The availability of common patient-reported outcome measures in hand surgery across Europe

Martin Aman; Anna Pennekamp; Cosima Prahm; Piotr Czarnecki; Brigitte Van der Heijden; Leila Harhaus

doi:10.1177/17531934241302227

The availability of common patient-reported outcome measures in hand surgery across Europe

J Hand Surg Eur Vol. 2024 Nov 26:17531934241302227. doi: 10.1177/17531934241302227. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Martin Aman¹, Anna Pennekamp², Cosima Prahm¹, Piotr Czarnecki³, Brigitte Van der Heijden⁴, Leila Harhaus¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hand, Replantation, and Microsurgery BG Klinikum Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin and Chair of Hand, Replantation, and Microsurgery at the Charité University Medicine Berlin.
² Department of Hand Surgery, Peripheral Nerve Surgery and Rehabilitation, Clinic of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Burn Center, BG Trauma Center Ludwigshafen, Department of Hand and Plastic Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Traumatology, Orthopaedics and Hand Surgery Department, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland.
⁴ Division of Plastic Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Jeroen Bosch Hospital's-Hertogenbosch and Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

PMID: 39600048
DOI: 10.1177/17531934241302227

Abstract

Many European healthcare systems emphasize value-based care to improve outcomes and control costs. Assessing function and satisfaction in hand surgery relies on patient reported outcome measures. This study evaluates the use of these outcome measures across Europe, focusing on diversity and language validation.A comprehensive database search for hand-specific patient reported outcome measures assessed availability for all official languages in Europe focusing on transculturally adapted and validated versions of available questionnaires. The study identified 47 European countries with 41 unique languages. The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire is the most available outcome measure, translated into 41 languages. Availability of other outcome measures varied significantly by language. Gaps in the availability of hand specific patient reported outcome measures exist across Europe. To assist in translating and validating such questionnaires, an exemplary Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials checklist is provided as supplementary material.Level of evidence: IV.

Keywords: DASH; Europe; FESSH; MHQ; PROMs; PWRM; hand surgery.

Publication types

Editorial