Development and content validity of the musculoskeletal self-management questionnaire (MSK-SMQ)

Abstract

Background: Self-management is recommended for managing persistent musculoskeletal conditions. In self-management, standardized and validated measurements (e.g., questionnaires) should be used. However, there is no general questionnaire to evaluate the level of self-management in people with persistent musculoskeletal conditions. Objectives: To develop a generic questionnaire to evaluate the level of self-management and self-management skills in people with persistent musculoskeletal conditions. Design: Measurement properties study focused on the development and content validity of the Musculoskeletal Self-Management Questionnaire (MSK-SMQ). Methods: The MSK-SMQ was developed, consisting of 24 questions. To assess the content validity of the MSK-SMQ, three panels (patients, professionals, researchers/academics) were used. The relevance, clarity and essentiality of each question was evaluated. Moreover, specific feedback could be provided. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was used to test content validity (Item-CV [I-CVI]) and the Scale-level-CVI [S-CVI]). The CVI was calculated for both relevance and clarity. The essentiality of each item was measured with the content validity ratio (CVR). Results/findings: 91 people participated in this study. The overall content validity (relevance) was excellent, with an S-CVI of 0.96. Overall clarity was also excellent, with a score of 0.97. The range of the I-CVI for relevance was 0.91–1.00 and the range for clarity was 0.93–1.00. The mean CVR value was 0.51 and ranged from 0.14 to 0.87. Conclusions: The content validity of the questionnaire was found to be excellent. The study resulted in a revised version of the MSK-SMQ, which can be used in future research to determine further psychometric properties.