[Assessment of one's own functional status. COOP-WONCA questionnaire charts in clinical practice and research]

Primary health care has needed an instrument that can be used to assess patients functional health status. Since 1988 the Classification Committee of WONCA, the World Organisation of Family Doctors, has been working on a revised edition of the Dartmouth COOP Functional Status Assessment Charts. The six COOP-WONCA Charts are described: physical fitness, feelings, daily activities, social activities, change in health and overall health. The charts have been tested against many other instruments and the validity has been found to be good. A Norwegian test-retest reliability study, the first on the revised COOP-WONCA Charts, showed good reliability. For 35 out of 40 of the office patients included in the study, either the answers were the same at test-retest, or "change of health" was consistent with changes in other variables. A study in a group of 171 asthma patients showed unchanged mean scores after six months. The results from a population study in the municipality of Ullensaker, comprising 2,864 persons, are presented as a basis for comparison. The COOP-WONCA instrument is simple and easy to use and understand. It meets the requirements for a useful tool in clinical practice and research and seems to provide valuable, additional information in daily practice. The COOP-WONCA Charts represent a simple and good method for assessing functional status.