A systematic review shows minimal evidence for measurement properties of psychological functioning outcomes in whiplash

Carrie Ritchie; Tonny Elmose Andersen; Sophie Lykkegaard Ravn; Anne Söderlund; Michele Sterling; CATWAD

doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.07.011

A systematic review shows minimal evidence for measurement properties of psychological functioning outcomes in whiplash

J Clin Epidemiol. 2022 Nov:151:29-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.07.011. Epub 2022 Aug 5.

Authors

Carrie Ritchie¹, Tonny Elmose Andersen², Sophie Lykkegaard Ravn³, Anne Söderlund⁴, Michele Sterling⁵; CATWAD

Collaborators

CATWAD:
Linda Carroll⁶, Luke B Connelly⁷, Pierre Cote⁸, Michele Curatolo⁹, Genevieve Grant¹⁰, Gwendolen Jull¹¹, Helge Kasch¹², Joy MacDermid¹³, Eva Maj Malmström¹⁴, Trudy Rebbeck¹⁵, Julia Treleaven¹¹, David Walton¹⁶, Hans Westergren¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ RECOVER Injury Research Centre and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence: Better Health Outcomes for Compensable Injury, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: c.ritchie@uq.edu.au.
² Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Region of Southern Denmark.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Region of Southern Denmark, and Specialized Hospital for Polio and Accident Victims, Roedovr, Denmark.
⁴ School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden.
⁵ RECOVER Injury Research Centre and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence: Better Health Outcomes for Compensable Injury, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁶ School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
⁷ Centre for the Business and Economics of Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Departmento di Sociologia e Diritto Dell'Economia, The University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
⁸ Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁹ Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine; Clinical Learning, Evidence and Research (CLEAR) Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders, Harborview Injury Preventions and Research Center (HIPRC), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
¹⁰ Faculty of Law, Australian Centre for Justice Innovation (ACJI), Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence: Better Health Outcomes for Compensable Injury, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹¹ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹² Department of Neurology, Regional Hospital of Viborg, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
¹³ Physical Therapy and Surgery, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, Clinical Research Lab, Hand and Upper Limb Centre, St. Joseph's Health Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁴ Department of Pain Rehabilitation, Skåne University Hospital, Malmo, Sweden, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
¹⁵ Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹⁶ School of Physical Therapy, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁷ Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

PMID: 35934267
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.07.011

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to systematically identify, synthesize, and appraise studies on the measurement properties of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for anxiety, depression, fear of movement, pain catastrophizing, post-traumatic stress, self-efficacy, and stress in people with whiplash-associated disorders (WAD).

Study design and setting: PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PILOTS, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched (November 9, 2021). Studies evaluating any measurement property of relevant PROMs in WAD were included. Two reviewers independently screened the studies and assessed the measurement properties in accordance with the COSMIN guidelines.

Results: Measurement properties of 10 PROMs were evaluated in WAD: Pictorial Fear of Activity Scale-Cervical (PFActS-C), Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia-11, Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ), PSEQ-4 item, PSEQ-2a, PSEQ-2b, Self-Efficacy Scale, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, and Post-Traumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale. Content validity was not examined in any of these PROMs in whiplash. Moderate- or high-quality evidence showed adequate internal structure for the PSEQ, PCS, and PFActS-C, whereas the original structures of the remaining seven PROMs were not confirmed in whiplash.

Conclusion: Until further research on the measurement properties of these PROMs is available, researchers may opt to use the PSEQ, PCS, or PFActS-C if the construct is aligned with research aims.

Keywords: Internal structure; Measurement property; Patient-reported outcome measure; Psychological functioning; Psychometrics; Whiplash.

Publication types

Systematic Review
Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Psychometrics
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires
Whiplash Injuries* / psychology