Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Apr 1;44(7):E430-E437.
doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000002867.

Psychometric Properties Study of the Oswestry Disability Index in a Spanish Population With Previous Lumbar Disc Surgery: Homogeneity and Validity

Carmen Selva-Sevilla  1 , Paula Ferrara  2 , Manuel Gerónimo-Pardo  3
Affiliations

Psychometric Properties Study of the Oswestry Disability Index in a Spanish Population With Previous Lumbar Disc Surgery: Homogeneity and Validity

Carmen Selva-Sevilla et al. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). .

Abstract

Study design: Evaluation of the psychometric properties of a questionnaire.

Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) in a Spanish population with previous lumbar disc surgery.

Summary of background data: ODI is frequently used for measuring disability in spinal disorders. In 1995, ODI was translated and transculturally adapted into the Spanish context; its content and apparent validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability were demonstrated for a Spanish population with lumbar pain. However, this score has not been tested in terms of discriminative capacity (floor and ceiling effects) and construct validity.

Methods: Two hundred seventy-five patients who had previously undergone surgical treatment for disc lumbar herniation completed the ODI, Short-Form 36 (SF36), EuroQol-5D (EQ5D), and Numerical Rating Scale for Back Pain. Internal consistency, floor and ceiling effects and construct validity (convergent, divergent, and "known-groups" validities) were assessed.

Results: Spanish ODI showed a very good internal consistency: Cronbach-α coefficient for ODI score was 0.928; Cronbach-α coefficient, if the item was deleted, did not increase by more than 0.1 for each item; and Item-total correlations ranged from strong to very strong. There was floor effect for both ODI score and for all individual items. There was no ceiling effect. Spanish ODI showed very good construct validity because 88% (7/8) of the hypotheses about convergent, divergent and "known-groups" validities were supported. Concerning convergent validity, ODI was strongly correlated with the Numerical Rating Scale for Back Pain (0.717; P < 0.001), SF36-Utility (rho = -0.786; P < 0.001), Physical Component Summary score SF36 (rho = -0.787; P < 0.001), Mental Component Summary score SF36 (rho = -0.605; P < 0.001), EQ5D-Utility (rho = -0.833; P < 0.001) and some EQ5D physical components.

Conclusion: Spanish ODI showed good psychometric properties (internal consistency and construct validity), similar to others validation studies. Spanish ODI is a valid instrument for the measurement of disability in Spanish patients with previous lumbar disc surgery, specifically in patients with moderate/intense disability.

Level of evidence: 4.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ware JE. SF-36 health survey update. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2000; 25:3130–3139.
    1. EuroQol Group. EuroQol: a new facility for the measurement of health-related quality of life. Health Policy 1990; 16:199–208.
    1. Fairbank JC, Couper J, Davies JB, et al. The Oswestry low back pain disability questionnaire. Physiotherapy 1980; 66:271–273.
    1. Grotle M, Brox J, Vollestad N. Cross-cultural adaptation of the Norwegian versions of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Oswestry Disability Index. J Rehabil Med 2003; 35:241–247.
    1. Boscainos PJ, Sapkas G, Stilianessi E, et al. Greek versions of the Oswestry and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaires. Clin Ortho Relat Res 2003; 411:40–53.

Publication types