This website was designed by the ARHP research committee to assist researchers, clinicians, and other interested parties to learn about valid and reliable patient-oriented outcome instruments (worded in the English language) that are useful in the study and management of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions.
One important group of instruments measure patient quality of life (QOL) which is a complex, abstract, and multidimensional concept that is often difficult to define and measure. Another group of instruments useful in the study of arthritis management are those that measure functional status. Because various conceptual and operational definitions have been used in studies to document the effects of health care interventions on patient outcomes in arthritis, we have attempted to explain some of the key measurement issues that relate to the instruments. These explanations are brief, but should serve as a beginning introduction to key measurement issues.
Disclaimer
Inclusion of an instrument in this website should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the instrument by the ACR/ARHP. Inclusion criteria which we initially used to select instruments for this website began with those instruments listed in Arthritis Care and Research Volume 49, Issue S5, 2003.
The following criteria were developed for inclusion of measures in the volume of Arthritis Care & Research:
- Measures should be relevant to and/or used in rheumatology research and/or clinical practice.
- Measures should be in the public domain (i.e., do not require purchase).
- Measures should require very little or easily attainable equipment to administer.
- Measures should not require special training or certification to administer.
- Measures should not be not biologically based (e.g., radiographic grading systems).
The reader is also referred to a newer Special Issue of Arthritis Care & Research that reviewed Patient Outcomes in Rheumatology in 2011 (Volume 63, No S11). This issue contains 35 reviews covering over 250 measures in four primary domains: Pathology and Symptoms, Function, Health Status and Quality of Life, and Psychological. The ARHP Research Committee has additionally developed this website to serve as an additional source for summaries of some of the most commonly used patient outcome measures in rheumatology.
Credits
ARHP Research Committee has reviewed this document in June 2012.
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