Measuring routine activities, social engagement and emotional well-being among the elderly
28th April 2023
Evaluating response rates, data quality, score reliability and scaling assumptions of the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire (Ox-PAQ) within Sweden.
Increasingly, health status measures used to measure the subjective functioning and wellbeing of respondents, are being used in trials of treatments which are undertaken in a variety of countries. To assess comparability of results gained from such international studies, it is important for researchers to know the operating characteristics of instruments across cultures.
Professor Crispin Jenkinson, lead author of the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire (Ox-PAQ), worked closely with the Swedish charity Äldrekontakt, to evaluate response rates, data quality, score reliability and scaling assumptions of the Ox-PAQ within Sweden.
The study focused on an older age group (75 years and older), which typically have a greater variety of health issues and medical needs than younger respondents. Results from the study suggest that the Ox-PAQ is a valid and reliable measure that can be appropriately and meaningfully used among this section of the population.
The Ox-PAQ is a short, 23-item, patient reported outcome measure, theoretically grounded in the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The Ox-PAQ measures Routine Activities, Social Engagement and Emotional Well-Being in patients experiencing a range of health conditions. The questionnaire was developed at the University of Oxford and is licensed and managed by the Clinical Outcomes team at Oxford University Innovation.
Evidence suggests the OX-PAQ questionnaire has real-world applications, not just among elderly people, but other age groups and in other countries, which gives it huge value.
The longer-term objective of using the OxPAQ in this context will be to demonstrate the importance of regular social contact for elderly people in improving their quality of life and wellbeing, and the OxPAQ enables the impact of such interventions to be measured.
The research will be presented at this year’s International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research conference on Monday May 8th during the 3.15-6.45pm poster session, code (PCR60). Dr David Churchman at InSpired Health Outcomes will be presenting the poster in person on behalf of the researchers.
If you have any questions related to the research, you can contact The Clinical Outcomes team via healthoutcomes@innovation.ox.ac.uk.
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