Cervical spine outcomes questionnaire: its development and psychometric properties.
METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze a convenience sample of patients seeking treatment for cervical spine conditions.


OBJECTIVE
To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a comprehensive, disease-specific questionnaire for characterizing complaints of neck pain and evaluating the outcomes of treatments for these complaints.


BACKGROUND
There currently are a number of generic and disease-specific instruments for assessing complaints of neck pain. None comprehensively cover the wide range of factors considered essential in evaluating treatment outcomes.


METHODS
The authors developed a comprehensive, disease-specific questionnaire for characterizing complaints of neck pain and evaluating the outcomes of treatments for these complaints. In this study, 216 patients who underwent surgery for cervical spine disorders completed the Cervical Spine Outcomes Questionnaire before treatment, then at 3 and 6 months after treatment. The data were used to evaluate the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the questionnaire.


RESULTS
The authors have shown that the Cervical Spine Outcomes Questionnaire has high test-retest reliability, good construct validity, and responsiveness to change after treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
The Cervical Spine Outcomes Questionnaire is a comprehensive, disease-specific instrument for assessing complaints of neck pain and evaluating the outcomes of treatments for these complaints. It provides information on demographics, pain severity, functional disability, psychological distress, physical symptoms, health care utilization, and satisfaction. It appears to be acceptable to patients, easy to administer, highly reliable, valid, and responsive. It should be considered for use in monitoring patients with cervical spine conditions and in studies of cervical spine disorders and their treatments.
BenDebba
Mohammed
M
Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. mohammed@jhmi.edu
Heller
John
J
Ducker
Thomas B
TB
Eisinger
Jane M
JM
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States