Development and Validation of a PROM for PNIs of the Hand
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development and Validation of a Patient-Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) for Peripheral Nerve Disorders of the Hand
IRAS ID
155734
Contact name
Mark Ashwood
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Research summary
The nerves of the hand and arm carry signals from the brain through the spinal cord. These messages are important, sending power to muscles, allowing movement. They also provide sensation to the hands, which enables us to feel objects. Both feeling and movement are required for us to participate in a variety of daily tasks. Injury to nerves affecting the hand can therefore have a significant impact on a person’s ability to do the most basic of activities. There can also be wider reaching implications such as an inability to participate with hobbies, sports or work. Patients who sustain a nerve injury often require surgery and rehabilitation to help regain their independence. It is important that the results of these treatments are evaluated. There are a variety of patient-reported outcome measures used to determine this; however, there are none that are specific to nerve disorders affecting the hand. It has been argued that more general outcome measures for the hand that are in current use may not be the best at detecting clinically important change for patients with a nerve disorder. This project therefore aims to design a new measure that can be used with people with a nerve disorder affecting their hand. It will look specifically at the impact on activities and participation. The project will be completed in three stages; the first will be deciding on which items to put in a questionnaire, the second on refining these items and creating a first version of the questionnaire. The final stage of the project will involve a series of tests to determine how well the questionnaire measures what it is supposed to, how consistent it is over time and how sensitive it is in detecting patient improvement over time.
REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NE/1087
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion