Introduction
Measures of health status and healthcare outcomes are tools to assess a person's current or future health status and demonstrate the effectiveness of treatment.
Below you can access measures used by clinicians on the WorkSafe Clinical Panel. The list is not exhaustive but includes measures that are particularly useful in clinical practice. Using the links provided, you can download and print the measure, or complete and score it online. All measures are free to use.
For terms you may be unfamiliar with, see the Definitions section on this page.
Measuring and demonstrating the effectiveness of treatment is the first principle of the Clinical Framework for the Delivery of Health Services, an excellent companion to these tools.
Non-specific measures
General Measures
Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC)/Global Rating of Change (GRC)
- Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) / Global Rating of Change (GRC)
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Reviews the patient's impression of progress they've made with treatment.
Advantages
- Simple to understand.
- No scoring required.
- A horizontal 7 point scale has good clinimetric properties.
Precautions or limitations
- The wording that introduces the scale needs to be carefully considered to get an unambiguous response. Possible wording: very much better, better, slightly better, the same, slightly worse, worse, very much worse. For the midpoint, wording could be "unchanged" with end points spelt out in words and numbers or marks.
- The scale should be used along with at least one standardised outcome measure.
- Patient Specific Functional Scale (PSFS)
- Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI)
Patient Specific Functional Scale (PSFS)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Screening measures
General measures
Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (OMSPQ)
- Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (OMSPQ)
Type
- Discriminative
- Predictive
Description
- Predicts long-term disability and failure to return to work when completed between 4 to 12 weeks.
- Scores of 130 or above predict those who failed to return to work in studies. Scores of 105 or below predict recovery and those who will not take sick leave.
- See a frequently asked questions document by one of the authors of the OMSPQ.
Advantages
- While the short form (OMSPQ-10) has replaced the OMSPQ in many clinical practices, the longer version gives more clinical information.
- The person's responses to each item may provide significant insights into their thoughts and beliefs about their pain and as such add value to the clinical assessment process.
- Screening tools allow for risk factors and barriers to recovery to be addressed early via the implementation of early psychosocial interventions.
- Available in many languages.
Precautions or limitations
- Scoring is a little complex.
- Has not been validated as an evaluative measure.
- Should be introduced in the first 3 months after an injury.
- Short Form Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (OMSPQ-10)
- Keele STarT back screening tool
- WhipPredict
Short Form Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (OMSPQ-10)
- Type
- discriminative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Keele STarT Back Screening Tool
- Type
- discriminative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
WhipPredict
- Type
- discriminative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Pain measures
General measures
Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)
- Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)
Note: To be determined if this measure remains free to use.
Type
- Discriminative of pain severity
- Evaluative
Description
- Allows rapidly but comprehensively assessment of pain severity and the impact of pain on daily functions.
- A key measure in ePPOC.
- Monitors change in both pain intensity and pain interference with many aspects of a person's life throughout a treatment program. (MDC = 1/10, MCID = 2+/10) This is sensitive to the initial severity and the individual circumstances.
Advantages
- Simple to score. Two scores are for pain severity and pain interference.
- Widely validated and extensively used in diverse research and clinical settings.
- IMMPACT recommendations for assessing clinical significance for 0-10 numeric pain scales:
- Change of ≥10% represents minimally important change.
- Change of ≥30% represents moderate clinically important change.
- Change of ≥50% represents substantial clinically important change.
Precautions or limitations
- None of note.
- Pain Self Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ)
- Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS)
- Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK)
- Self report Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs Scale (s-LANSS)
- painDETECT
Pain Self Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ)
- Type
- discriminative of severity
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS)
- Type
- discriminative of severity of pain catastrophising
- evaluative
- predictive of persistent pain, disability and a poor return to work outcome
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK)
- Type
- evaluative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Self report Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs Scale (s-LANSS)
- Type
- discriminative for neuropathic and nociceptive pain
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
painDETECT
- Type
- discriminative for neuropathic pain components in adults with low back pain
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Musculoskeletal measures
Back and lower limb
- Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Score (HOOS)
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Explores how the hip condition is impacting on the person and can be used to monitor changes in hip function, pain and quality of life with treatment interventions.
Advantages
- Can be completed and scored online.
- More responsive than the WOMAC.
- Available in over 20 languages.
Precautions or limitations
- Can take up to 15 minutes to complete.
- Complex to score if not done online.
Online tool available
- Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS)
- Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI)
- Québec Back Pain Disability Scale (QBPDS)
- Back Bournemouth Questionnaire
Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
- Online tool available
Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
- Online tool available
Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
- Online tool available
Québec Back Pain Disability Scale (QBPDS)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Back Bournemouth Questionnaire
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Head, neck and upper limb
Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand (DASH)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
- Online tool available
Quick DASH
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
- Online tool available
Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Upper Extremity Functional Index (UEFI)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Whiplash Disability Questionnaire (WDQ)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Headache Disability Index (HDI)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Neck Disability Index (NDI)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
- Online tool available
Neck Bournemouth Questionnaire
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Disability measures
Balance
Functional Independence Sitting Test (FIST)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
5x sit to stand
- Type
- evaluative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Timed Up and Go (TUG)
- Type
- evaluative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Step Test
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Functional Reach Test
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest)
- Type
- discriminative
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Mobility
10-metre walk test
- Type
- evaluative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
6-minute walk test
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
HiMAT
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Upper limb
Action Research Arm Test (ARAT)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Wheelchair User's Shoulder Pain Index (WUSPI)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Goal setting
Goal Attainment Scale (GAS)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Quality of life
Community Integration Questionnaire – Revised (CIQ–R)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Performance measures
30-second chair stand test
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
40-metre fast-paced walk
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
6-minute walk test
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Psychological measures
Depression, anxiety (dis)stress
Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 42 Item (DASS-42)
- Type
- discriminative
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 Item (DASS-21)
- Type
- discriminative
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10)
- Type
- evaluative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Impact of Events Scale – Revised (IES–R)
- Type
- discriminative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist – 5 (PCL–5)
- Type
- discriminative
- evaluative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Substance abuse
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test short form (AUDIT-C)
- Type
- discriminative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)
- Type
- evaluative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT)
- Type
- discriminative
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Child/Adolescent
Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 – Child/Adolescent version (CAPS-CA-5)
- Type
- discriminative
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)
- Type
- evaluative
- predictive
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Neuropsychology
Overt Behaviour Scale (OBS)
- Type
- evaluative
- Description
- Advantages
- Precautions or limitations
Definitions
Types of measures
- discriminative
- evaluative
- predictive
Other terms
- absenteeism
- catastrophising
- clinical prediction rule
- CAPS 5
- clinimetrics
- ePPOC
- fear avoidance
- floor effect, ceiling effect
- IMMPACT
- kinesiophobia
- minimum clinically important difference (MCID)
- MDC, MDC90, MDC95
- neuropathic pain
- nociceptive pain
- positive predictive value (PPV)
- presenteesim
- revised life events checklist
- WOMAC
- yellow flags