title: Is Social Support Associated With Upper Extremity Disability?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pain intensity and disability correlate with psychosocial factors such as depression and pain interference (the degree to which pain interferes with activities of daily living) as much or more than pathophysiology in upper extremity illness. However, other factors like emotional support (perception of being cared for and valued as a person), instrumental support (perception of availability of tangible assistance when needed), positive psychosocial impact (perception and focus on the positive side of a difficult situation, sometimes characterized as posttraumatic growth, benefit-finding, or meaning making), also might be associated with disability in patients with upper extremity orthopaedic illness. This is the first published study, to our knowledge, addressing the potential association of emotional support, instrumental support, and positive psychosocial illness impact with disability in patients with upper extremity illness.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We asked: (1) Is there a correlation between the QuickDASH and the Patient-reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS(®)) emotional support Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT)? (2) Is there a correlation between the QuickDASH and PROMIS(®) instrumental support CAT? (3) Is there a correlation between the QuickDASH and PROMIS(®) positive psychosocial illness impact CAT? (4) Among the PROMIS(®) measures of depression, emotional support, instrumental support, positive illness impact, and pain interference, which accounts for the most variance in QuickDASH scores?
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred ninety-three patients with upper extremity illness (55% women; average age, 51 ± 18 years) of 213 approached (91% recruitment rate) completed the QuickDASH, and five different PROMIS(®) CATs: pain interference (the degree to which pain interferes with accomplishing one's goals), depression, emotional support, psychosocial illness impact, and instrumental support. We recruited patients from the practice of three surgeons in hand service of the department of orthopaedic surgery at a major urban university hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pearson Product Moment Correlations showed that emotional support (r = -0.18; p = 0.014) and instrumental support (r = -0.19; p = 0.008) were weakly and inversely associated with the QuickDASH), while positive psychosocial illness impact was moderately and inversely associated with the QuickDASH (r = -0.36; p < 0.001). In multivariable analyses, pain interference, but not the social support measures, was the only psychosocial factor associated with the QuickDASH and alone explained 66% of variance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Emotional support, instrumental support and positive psychosocial illness impact are all individually associated with disability to a small degree, but pain interference (the degree to which pain interferes with accomplishing one's goals) has the strongest influence on magnitude of disability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Level 1, prognostic study.
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Hand and Upper Extremity Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Sjoerd P F T
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Nota
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Hand and Upper Extremity Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Silke A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Spit
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Hand and Upper Extremity Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Thijs C H
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Oosterhoff
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Hand and Upper Extremity Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Michiel G J S
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Hageman
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Hand and Upper Extremity Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. david.ring@austin.utexas.edu.|Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care, Dell Medical School, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd., Suite 2.834; MC: R1800, Austin, TX, 78723, USA. david.ring@austin.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Ring
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ana-Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Vranceanu
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D010147:Pain Measurement; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult