A new study published in Spine examines spinal trauma patient outcomes and how surgeons are measuring for function and health.
The researchers investigated three question formats and three different response formats in a questionnaire, which was administered to patients twice. Then, based on those results, the researchers administered a modified questionnaire and administered it once to a second group to investigate five different response formats:
• Zero to 10 numeric rating scale-11
• Zero to 11 numeric rating scale-101
• Visual analogue scale
• Verbal rating scale
• Adjective scale
There were 28 patients enrolled in the first phase and 59 patients in the second phase. Here are five key findings:
1. The highest preference in the initial phase for one specific question format was 60 percent, and then 87 percent after the first and second questionnaire was administered.
2. The Verbal Rating Scale was the most preferred response format with 35.6 percent in the second phase.
3. Overall, semi-structured interviews showed a subgroup of patients preferred a verbal response — about 42.4 percent.
4. There were 49.1 percent of the patients who preferred a numerical response format.
5. There were good to excellent psychometric properties for all formats.