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Table 1 Reliability of questions asked during clinical interview and self-complete questionnaire (in order of agreement beyond chance for inter-observer comparisons)

From: Hand assessment in older adults with musculoskeletal hand problems: a reliability study

 

Inter-observer reliability (n= 55)

Intra-observer reliability (n= 54)

 

Prev %

Agr

Agr %

K

Agr

Agr %

K

Do you have problems with one or both hands? (left/right/both + )

84.6+

5/3/46

98.2

0.93

3/3/43

90.8

0.67

Have you ever had surgery to your hands? (yes/no)

15.5

8/46

98.2

0.93

8/45

98.1

0.93

Have you ever had injuries to your hands? (yes/no)

49.1

25/26

92.7

0.85

26/26

96.3

0.93

Are you right or left handed? (right + /left/both)

94.5+

52/2/0

98.1

0.83

51/3/0

100

1.00

Does your hand pain stop you from sleeping or disturb your sleep? (yes/no/na)

30.9

15/29/4

92.7

0.83

12/23/5

87.0

0.68

How long does hand stiffness last on waking? (< 30 mins + ≥30 mins/na)

46.4+

23/6/18

91.0

0.82

18/4/15

74.1

0.48

When did your hand symptoms first start? (< 12 mnths + /1-5 yrs/5-10 yrs/> 10 yrs)

8.2+

3/20/6/19

87.3

0.81

1/17/3/20

76.0

0.63

Do you ask for help? (yes/no)

66.4

34/16

90.9

0.80

37/13

92.6

0.82

Do your fingers ever lock, trigger or catch? (yes/no)

23.7

11/40

92.7

0.80

11/39

92.6

0.80

Which hand is worse? (left/right + /no diff/na)

48.2+

10/24/5/8

85.4

0.79

7/21/5/6

72.3

0.60

Do you have pins and needles in your hands? (yes/no)

45.5

22/27

89.1

0.78

17/24

75.9

0.51

Do you have hand stiffness on waking? (yes/no/na)

61.8

31/6/8

89.1

0.77

29/2/9

81.5

0.60

Do you have numbness in your hands? (yes/no)

30.9

14/35

89.1

0.75

10/36

85.2

0.62

Is your hand pain there all the time? (yes/no/na)

30.9

14/27/4

89.1

0.75

14/17/5

75.9

0.49

Is the altered sensation worse at night? (yes/no/na)

22.8

9/17/20

87.3

0.64

6/10/19

75.9

0.33

Have you had to stop work, chores or hobbies because of your hand symptoms? (yes/no)

30.2

12/34

83.6

0.61

11/32

79.6

0.52

Do you experience stiffness in your hands? (yes/no)

78.2

39/8

85.4

0.57

36/9

83.4

0.57

Do you use gadgets or aids? (yes/no)

50.9

22/21

78.2

0.57

21/21

77.8

0.56

In the last month have you had any pain, tenderness, aching or discomfort in your hands? (yes/no)

88.2

46/4

90.9

0.57

41/5

85.2

0.47

Have you changed the way you do things? (yes/no)

74.6

36/9

81.9

0.53

32/4

66.7

0.09

Does hand pain limit your activities? (yes/no/na)

39.1

15/21/4

76.4

0.52

14/21/5

83.3

0.63

Have you had to take time off work because of your

8.2

2/6/35

78.2

0.51

1/4/41

85.2

0.57

hand problem? (yes/no/retired)

       

Do you have tingling in your hands? (yes/no)

39.1

13/29

69.1

0.35

9/27

66.7

0.26

Do you have any other sensation in your hands?

6.4

0/48

87.3

-0.03

0/52

96.3

-0.02

(yes/no)

       

Do you experience any thumb pain during activity? (yes/no) §

-

-

-

-

45 (30/15)

83.3

0.64

Severity of hand problems (none/very mild/mild/moderate/severe) §

-

-

-

-

33 (1/6/10/13/3)

61.2

0.57^

Days of pain, aching, stiffness in the last month (no/few/some/most/all) §

-

-

-

-

29 (2/5/8/7/7)

53.8

0.56^

Bothersomeness (not at all/slightly/moderately/very much/extremely) §

-

-

-

-

31 (3/10/14/3/1)

57.5

0.53^

Symptom progression (worse/better/same) §

-

-

-

-

34 (5/0/29)

63.0

0.19^

  

Agr % Median (range)

K Median (range)

Agr % Median (range)

K Median(range)

Can you show me where you have altered sensation? (Hand manikin - 14 areas per hand)

-

90.0 (83.6, 100.0)

0.66 (0.20, 1.00)

83.3 (74.1, 90.7)

0.47 (-0.09, 0.65)

Can you show me where your hands hurt? (Hand manikin - 14 areas per hand)

-

85.5 (76.4, 94.5)

0.58 (0.27, 0.75)

84.3 (75.9, 90.7)

0.43 (0.05, 0.73)

  1. Prevalence % is based on the average of findings from both assessors. Percentages are based on positive findings unless otherwise indicated+. Abbreviations: Prev % = prevalence of positive findings based on first assessor; Agr = Number of cases agreed; Agr % = observed percentage agreement; k = kappa; ^quadratic weighted kappa; §Questions from self-complete questionnaire; *Median (range) for observed percentage agreement and kappa.