Research ArticleNeck and back pain specific outcome assessment questionnaires in the Spanish language: a systematic literature review
Introduction
In the current health care climate in the United States and other nations, evidence-based practice, value (ie, outcome per dollar spent [1]) and accountability for outcomes and cost [2] are becoming increasingly emphasized. As a result, clinicians will be expected to produce credible data that demonstrate whether their patients are receiving meaningful benefit from care. Thus it is important for private practitioners and clinics to use reliable and valid outcome assessment tools. In the management of spine-related disorders, several clinical assessment procedures have been used over the years, including range of motion, muscle strength, and endurance capacity. However, recent studies have suggested that these parameters may not truly reflect patients' ability to perform the normal functions of daily life [3], [4]. Evidence suggests that a clearer picture of a patient's functional abilities, and thus the improvement or lack thereof in functional abilities as a result of intervention, can be obtained from simple questionnaires that inquire about the degree to which the spine problem is interfering with the patient's ability to perform various activities of daily living as well as the degree of distress the patient is feeling as a result of their particular spine problem [4]. Several spine-specific questionnaires have been developed for this purpose. Ideally, a good spine-specific outcome assessment questionnaire will be: (1) based on a credible conceptual model of spine pain; (2) brief; (3) suitable for use in a routine clinical setting; (4) acceptable to patients, clinicians and researchers; and (5) reliable, valid, and responsive to clinically meaningful change [5]. Therefore, for an instrument to be considered useful in research and clinical environments it is best if it meets most or all of these criteria.
In most cases, the spine-specific outcome assessment instruments that are currently available have been developed and validated in English-speaking environments. Spanish is the third most widely spoken language in the world after Mandarin and English [6]. The US Census Bureau expects Hispanics to make up nearly 25% of the US population by 2050 [7]. Therefore, it can be expected that the number of Spanish speaking patients seen in US health care facilities will grow rapidly over the next several years. Thus there is a growing need for spine practitioners in the United States to have available to them reliable and valid means of measuring the functional outcome of care using spine-specific instruments that are available in validated form in the Spanish language.
The purpose of this study is to review the literature to determine what spine-specific outcome assessment questionnaires are available in validated form in Spanish.
Section snippets
Methods
The following databases were searched up to 1 August 2011: Medline, CINAHL, Embase, and MANTIS. Searches of the authors' own libraries as well as the reference lists of retrieved articles were also conducted. Finally, citation searches of relevant articles and texts were conducted manually. The search terms that were used can be found in Table 1.
Studies were included if they were in English or Spanish and presented original data on the reliability, validity, psychometric properties, and/or
Results
The search strategy identified 287 articles, and of these, 10 were deemed relevant (Table 2). We have divided the presentation of the literature into those studies that apply to patients with neck pain (NP) and those that apply to patients with low back pain (LBP).
Discussion
There is a growing trend in health care toward demanding accountability for outcome of care (ie, in the near future, spine clinicians will be expected to demonstrate that the care they are providing is bringing meaningful benefit to their patients as well as value to the health care system). Thus, it has become increasingly important for spine clinicians to be able to accurately monitor and quantify functional improvement in response to treatment using tools that are applicable to a busy
Conclusion
Several spine pain–specific outcome assessment questionnaires have been translated into Spanish and evaluated for reliability, validity, and clinical usefulness. Based on this review of the available literature, it would appear that in NP patients the NDI is most useful and in LBP patients the ODI and RMQ are most useful. Further research is needed to develop tools that are specific to the country or region in which they are being used as well as to determine whether other outcome assessment
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2022, Musculoskeletal Science and PracticeCitation Excerpt :Higher scores represent more disability. The ODI has been shown to be a valid and reliable tool (Murphy and Lopez, 2013). The sample size was calculated with G*Power 3.1.7 for Windows (G*Power© from the University of Dusseldorf, Germany) (Faul et al., 2009).
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2021, Brazilian Journal of Physical TherapyCitation Excerpt :All participants received verbal and written explanation of the aims and methodology of the study, and those who agreed to participate signed an informed-consent agreement. The original Bournemouth Questionnaire comprises seven questions, each one representing a different dimension of the low back pain (Table 1).11,19 Each question of the Bournemouth Questionnaire is scored using an 11-point Numeric Rating Scale, and the final score, obtained by summing the seven topics, ranging from 0 to 70.
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2017, Revista Brasileira de ReumatologiaCitation Excerpt :A wide analysis of the disease requires standardized tools that measure patient conditions with precision and quality to follow the clinic progression and to verify treatment efficacy and quality of life related to self-perspective of health. Among measurement tools, questionnaires and functional scales are important for clinical practice and scientific research due to their subjective information that measure in an efficient and trustful manner with low cost.4–6 Questionnaires created in other languages must be translated and culturally adapted to the environment in which they will be used.
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2015, Journal of Bodywork and Movement TherapiesCitation Excerpt :Participants provided demographic and clinical data and also completed a number of measures of pain and disability including the Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMQ) (Roland and Morris, 1983), the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Index (ODI) (Fairbank et al., 1980), and a Numerical Pain Rate Scale (NPRS) (Jensen et al., 1999). The RMQ is the most commonly used questionnaire for assessing disability due to LBP (Murphy and Lopez, 2013). It consists of 24 items reflecting limitations in different activities of daily living attributed to LBP including walking, bending over, sitting, lying down, dressing, sleeping, self-care and daily life activities.
Spinal pain pathologies: Neck pain, back pain and low back pain
2014, FMC Formacion Medica Continuada en Atencion Primaria
FDA device/drug status: Not applicable.
Author disclosures: DRM: Support for travel to meetings for the study or other purposes: New York Chiropractic College (B); Endowments: MedRisk Inc (B). ML: Nothing to disclose.
The disclosure key can be found on the Table of Contents and at www.TheSpineJournalOnline.com.