Concept | Measurement method | Details |
---|---|---|
Perceived change in hand problem since baseline | Transition index [48]‡ | completely recovered, much better, better, no change, worse, much worse |
Health care related to hand problem since baseline | Hand injury | yes, no |
 | Hand operation | yes, no |
 | Consulted GP in past 18 months†| yes, no |
 | NHS and private services used in past 18 months†(adapted from [36]) | yes, no to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, hospital specialist, acupuncture, osteopath/chiropractor, drugs on prescription, hand operation, hand injection, other |
Occupational impact since baseline | Time off work | yes, no |
 | Stopped work | yes, no |
Hand pain and hand symptoms | Days of hand swelling in past month | all, most, some, few, no |
 | Days of hand pain in past 6 months^ [22] | no, 1–30, 31–89, 90+ days |
 | Hand pain severity in past 6 months^ | numerical rating scale (1–10) |
Coping strategies for hand pain | Single-item Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) [49] | numerical rating scale (0–7) with verbal anchors (never do that, always do that) |
Illness perceptions | Shortened version adapted from IPQ-R [35] | 6 dimensions: illness coherence, personal control, timeline (acute/chronic), timeline (cyclical), consequences, emotional representation |
Management/self-help | 7 treatments/self-help activities tried in past month: simple painkiller; anti-inflammatory tablets; creams, gels, or rubs; glucosamine or chondroitin sulphate; warmth, heat; cold; hand exercises | yes, no |
Narrative account | Open-ended question: course of hand pain and problems‡ | free text |