Development and initial validation of the ibadan knee/hip osteoarthritis outcome measure

Abstract

Background and Aim: Development of outcome measures remains a focus of health research in the 21st century. Outcome measures originally developed for the Nigerian environment are very rare. The aims of this study were to develop an outcome measure for management of hip and knee arthritic conditions, and to investigate the validity and responsiveness of it.

Methods: The Ibadan Knee/Hip Osteoarthritis Measure (IKHOAM)
was developed from other measures found in literature, as well as complaints of attending patients. Forty nine patients with pain from knee and/or hip osteoarthritis, the OA group (OAG) and 49 individuals without knee or hip pain, the pain-free group (PFG) were assessed, using the IKHOAM. The OAG was assessed on IKHOAM and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before and after a 6-week physiotherapy programme.

Results: Significant differences between IKHOAM scores of the OAG and PFG and between IKHOAM scores of OAG pre and post 6-week physiotherapy programme, as well as the significant negative correlations between changes in IKHOAM and VAS scores of OAG before and after the 6-week physiotherapy programme were demonstrated.

Conclusion: IKHOAM demonstrated initial criteria towards validity and responsiveness and may be used in a Nigerian population of OA knee/hip individuals and similar environments.