German translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire: cohort study.

KARSTENS, Sven; CHRISTIANSEN, David H.; BRINKMANN, Melanie; HAHM, Magali; McCRAY, Gareth; HILL, Jonathan C.; JOOS, Stefanie

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ) was developed to measure the health status of patients with various musculoskeletal conditions across multiple settings including rehabilitation. AIM: Formal translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the MSK-HQ into German (MSK-HQG), to determine test-retest-reliability, standard error of measurement (SEM), smallest detectable change (SDC), construct validity, responsiveness, minimal important change (MIC), and to test for floor or ceiling effects. DESIGN: Cohort study with six weeks follow-up. SETTING: Seven physiotherapy clinics/rehabilitation centres. POPULATION: Patients with a referral for physiotherapy indicating musculoskeletal complaints of the spine or extremities. METHODS: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation were carried out in accordance with guidelines provided by the developers. As reference standards we used pain intensity (0-10 numeric rating scale), quality of life (EQ5D-5L) and disability measures (RMDQ, NDI, WOMAC and SPADI) that were combined using z-scores. RESULTS: On 100 patients (age 44.8±13.4 years, 66% female) the test-retest-reliability intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.87 (95% CI 0.72; 0.93) and for construct validity correlation with the combined disability measure was rs = -0.81 (95% CI -0.88, -0.72), the SEM was 3.4, the SDC (individual) 9.4, and the MIC 8.5. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the study provides evidence for good reliability and validity for the MSK-HQG. Further studies in different settings and diagnostic subgroups should follow to better understand the psychometric properties of this measure in primary care, rehabilitation and specialist care settings. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: The results demonstrate that the MSK-HQG has sufficient psychometric properties for use in musculoskeletal research and practice. However, the SDC should be kept in mind when using the tool for individual patients. The MSK-HQG has the advantage of being a single instrument that can measure musculoskeletal health status across different pain sites, reducing the burden from the use of multiple tools.

Citation

KARSTENS, S., CHRISTIANSEN, D. H., BRINKMANN, M., HAHM, M., McCRAY, G., HILL, J. C., & JOOS, S. (2020). German translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire: cohort study. European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 56(6), 771-779. https://doi.org/10.23736/S1973-9087.20.06054-2

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 25, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Sep 25, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020
• Publicly Available Date: May 26, 2023
• Journal: European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
• Print ISSN: 1973-9087
• Publisher: Edizioni Minerva Medica
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 56
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 771-779
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.23736/S1973-9087.20.06054-2
• Keywords: Patient reported outcome measures; Psychometrics; Musculoskeletal diseases
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/418069
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.23736/S1973-9087.20.06054-2