The responsiveness of headache impact scales scored using 'classical' and 'modern' psychometric methods: a re-analysis of three clinical trials
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2003-12-04Keywords
Adult*Clinical Trials as Topic
Female
Humans
Male
Migraine Disorders
Psychometrics
Quality of Life
Serotonin Agonists
*Sickness Impact Profile
Sumatriptan
United States
Biostatistics
Epidemiology
Health Services Research
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
BACKGROUND: While item response theory (IRT) offers many theoretical advantages over classical test theory in the construction and scoring of patient based measures of health few studies compare scales constructed from both methodologies head to head. OBJECTIVE: Compare the responsiveness to treatment of migraine specific scales scored using summated rating scale methods vs. IRT methods. METHODS: The data came from three clinical studies of migraine treatment that used the Migraine Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MSQ). Five methods of quantifying responsiveness were used to evaluate and compare changes from pre- to post-treatment in MSQ scales scored using Likert and IRT scaling methods. RESULTS: Changes in all MSQ scale scores from pre- to post-treatment were highly significant in all three studies. A single index scored from the MSQ using IRT methods was determined to be more responsive than any one of the MSQ subscales across the five methods used to quantify responsiveness. Across 13 of the 15 tests (5 responsiveness methods * 3 studies) conducted, the single index scored from the MSQ using IRT methods was the most responsive measure. CONCLUSIONS: IRT methods increased the responsiveness of the MSQ to the treatment of migraine. The results agree with the psychometric evidence that suggest that it is feasible to score a single index from the MSQ using IRT methods. This approach warrants further testing with other measures of migraine impact.Source
Qual Life Res. 2003 Dec;12(8):903-12. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1023/A:1026111029376Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/47453PubMed ID
14651411Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1023/A:1026111029376