Reliability, validity, and sensitivity of a Swedish version of the revised and expanded Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS2).
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of a Swedish version of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS2) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).


METHODS
Reliability was assessed by a test-retest procedure with a 3-week interval and Cronbach's coefficient of internal consistency. Convergent validity was evaluated by correlation coefficients with the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), and disease activity variables. The sensitivity to change was assessed in 40 patients treated with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, 24 mo after the start of the study.


RESULTS
Significant differences were found for the Walking and Bending, Arthritis Pain, and Work scales (p < 0.05) in the test-retest reliability study. Internal consistency coefficients for the AIMS2 scales were 0.68-0.91. Convergent validity was established by significant correlations between the different scales in AIMS2 and the HAQ, MACL, and disease activity variables. Sensitivity to change was observed in 5 of 11 scales in AIMS2.


CONCLUSIONS
After modifying some reliability problems due to a more differentiated scale and cultural differences between the Swedish and American patients with RA, the reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of AIMS2 were found satisfactory.
Archenholtz
B
B
College of Health Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation, Gothenburg University, Sweden.
Bjelle
A
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001168:Arthritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013548:Sweden