title: Responsiveness of the Harris Hip Score and the SF-36: five years after total hip arthroplasty.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Comparing the responsiveness over time of the Harris Hip Score (HHS) and the SF-36 in patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) and assessing variation in the responsiveness of these measures by the number of co-morbidities.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study analyzed 335 THA patients treated at two southern Taiwan hospitals from 1997 to 2000. Magnitude of change in HRQoL was compared by generalized estimating equation. Bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrapping was used to measure magnitude of change in HHS and SF-36 subscale scores for five different time intervals spanning a 5-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analytical results indicated that the pain and physical function subscales of the HHS are more responsive than those of the SF-36 for short-term (within 1 year post-surgery) measurements but are less responsive for long-term measurements. At various follow-up intervals, the HHS and the SF-36 significantly differed in ES of changes in pain and physical function subscale scores for patients with one co-morbidity and for patients with two or more co-morbidities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For long-term evaluation of THA patients, clinicians and health researchers should weight both measures equally and should also consider co-morbidities.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Healthcare Administration, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100 Shih-Chun 1st Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hon-Yi
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Lih-Wen
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Mau
authors.forename: Je-Ken
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Jun-Wen
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Herng-Chia
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chiu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D025981:Hip Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D006621:Hip Joint; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013624:Taiwan; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome