Patient-reported outcome measures in osteoarthritis: a systematic search and review of their use and psychometric properties

INTRODUCTION: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) or self-completed questionnaires have been used to report outcomes in osteoarthritis (OA) for over 35 years. Choices will always need to be made about what should be measured and, if relevant, what would be the most appropriate PROM to use. The current study aims to describe the available PROMs used in OA and their performance quality, so that informed choices can be made about the most appropriate PROM for a particular task. METHODS: The study included a systematic search for PROMs that have been in use over 17 years (period 2000–2016), and to catalogue their psychometric properties, and to present the evidence in a user-friendly fashion. RESULTS: 78 PROMs were identified with psychometric evidence available. The domains of pain, self-care, mobility and work dominated, whereas domains such as cleaning and laundry and leisure, together with psychological and contextual factors, were poorly served. The most frequently used PROMs included the Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis Index, the Short Form 36 and the Knee Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score which, between them, appeared in more than 4000 papers. Most domains had at least one PROM with the highest level of psychometric evidence. CONCLUSION: A broad range of PROMs are available for measuring OA outcomes. Some have good psychometric evidence, others not so. Some important psychological areas such as self-efficacy were poorly served. The study provides a current baseline for what is available, and identifies the shortfall in key domains if the full biopsychosocial model is to be explored.