Use of self‐report activities of daily living questionnaires in osteoarthritis

Abstract

Self‐report activities of daily living (ADL) questionnaires and traditional observer‐reported physical measures were used to assess clinical status in a clinical trial involving patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The observer‐reported measures included pain on active motion, pain on passive motion, joint tenderness, joint swelling, joint crepitus, walking time, and observer global assessment. Self‐report ADL questionnaires included scales to assess difficulty, dissatisfaction, and pain in eight activities of daily living, as well as a visual analog pain scale and patient global assessment. Significant correlations were seen between the observerreported physical measures and self‐report questionnaire measures, indicating that both types of measures detect similar information. In comparisons made four weeks apart, changes in observer‐reported physical measures and self‐report questionnaire measures were also significantly correlated. Among the eight individual activities within the ADL scales, poorest status was reported for walking, and minimal problems were reported for the two activities involving use of the upper extremities, indicating criterion validity. Self‐report ADL questionnaire measures appeared as sensitive as traditional observer‐reported measures in detecting changes in clinical status over a four‐week period. Self‐reported ADL questionnaires appear valid, sensitive, and useful in assessment of clinical status in OA. Copyright © 1988 American College of Rheumatology