Linking patient reported shoulder outcomes to the international classification of functioning, disability and health

PurposeTo link the items from shoulder-specific Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) domains and categories, and to determine if the items fit into the ICF framework.Materials and methodsThe Brazilian versions of the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS), Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), Simple Shoulder Test (SST) and Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC) were linked to the ICF by two researchers independently. Agreement between raters was determined by calculating the Kappa Index.ResultsFifty-eight items from the PROMs were linked to eight domains and 27 categories of ICF. The PROMs covered components of body functions, activities, and participation. Components of body structure and environmental factors were not covered by any of the PROMs. There was substantial agreement between raters when linking the OSS (Kappa index = 0.66), SPADI (Kappa index = 0.92), SST (Kappa index = 0.72) and WORC (Kappa index = 0.71).ConclusionsWORC and SST were the PROMs that covered the highest number of ICF domains (seven and six, respectively). However, SST is short and may be less time consuming in a clinical assessment. Clinicians can benefit from this study to decide which shoulder-specific PROM may be more adequate according to the clinical demand.

Automated summary

The purpose of this study was to link shoulder-specific Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) domains and categories, and to determine if the items fit into the ICF framework. The PROMs covered components of body functions, activities, and participation, but did not cover components of body structure and environmental factors. WORC and SST were the PROMs that covered the highest number of ICF domains (seven and six, respectively), with SST being shorter and less time-consuming in a clinical assessment. Clinicians can use this study to choose a more appropriate shoulder-specific PROM based on clinical demand.