The Responsiveness of Headache Impact Scales Scored Using 'Classical' and 'Modern' Psychometric Methods: A Re-Analysis of Three Clinical Trials

• Published in: Quality of life research 2003-12, Vol.12 (8), p.903-912
• Main Authors: Kosinski, M, Bjorner, J B, Ware, Jr, J E, Batenhorst, A, Cady, R K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Clinical Trials as Topic; Emotional expression; Female; Headache; Headaches; Health status; Humans; Item response theory; Male; Migraine; Migraine Disorders - drug therapy; Migraine Disorders - physiopathology; Psychometrics; Quality of Life; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; Serotonin Receptor Agonists - administration & dosage; Serotonin Receptor Agonists - therapeutic use; Sickness Impact Profile; Standard deviation; Statistical variance; Sumatriptan - administration & dosage; Sumatriptan - therapeutic use; The Practical Assessment of Headache Impact Using Item Response Theory and Computerized Adaptive Testing; United States
• ISSN: 0962-9343; 1573-2649
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1026111029376

Background: While item response theory (IRT) offers many theoretical advantages over classical test theory in the construction and scoring of patient based measures of health few studies compare scales constructed from both methodologies head to head. Objective: Compare the responsiveness to treatment of migraine specific scales scored using summated rating scale methods vs. IRT methods. Methods: The data came from three clinical studies of migraine treatment that used the Migraine Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MSQ). Five methods of quantifying responsiveness were used to evaluate and compare changes from pre- to post-treatment in MSQ scales scored using Likert and IRT scaling methods. Results: Changes in all MSQ scale scores from pre- to post-treatment were highly significant in all three studies. A single index scored from the MSQ using IRT methods was determined to be more responsive than any one of the MSQ subscales across the five methods used to quantify responsiveness. Across 13 of the 15 tests (5 responsiveness methods * 3 studies) conducted, the single index scored from the MSQ using IRT methods was the most responsive measure. Conclusions: IRT methods increased the responsiveness of the MSQ to the treatment of migraine. The results agree with the psychometric evidence that suggest that it is feasible to score a single index from the MSQ using IRT methods. This approach warrants further testing with other measures of migraine impact.