VALIDATION DATA

MEASUREMENT PROPERTIES
Limitations
Observations
1. RELIABILITY
A. Internal Consistency Not Tested
Cronbach's (Describe)
B. Reliability intraobserver or test-retest Tested
Continuous scores: intraclass
correlation coefficient (ICC)
Dichotomus: Cohen kappa (Describe)

RA-FQ obtained 48–72 h apart (a time during which no change would be anticipated) in 93 patients with RA at 2 academic centers suggested high reliability [r = 0.94; ICC (2, 1) = 0.93, 95% CI 0.90–0.95].

C. Reliability interobserver or Measurement error Not Tested
Standard error of measurement (SEM),
smallest detectable change (SDC) or
Limits of agreement (LoA) (Describe)
2. VALIDITY
A. Content validity: face validity Tested
Expert opinion (relevance and
comprehensiveness) (Describe)

Patients and physicians were involved in the development of the questionnaire. The foundational work was based on a reflective measurement model and grounded in qualitative studies with patients, thus ensuring a good match with patient-reported domains in the RA Flare Core Domain Set. Debriefing of the questionnaire throughout the process provided further evidence of match by people with RA. 

B. Construct Validity:
Structural validity
Tested
Hypotheses-testing Tested
Cross-cultural validity Not Tested
Brief Description

Factor analysis was used to examine structural validity. The 5 items represented a single factor (81% of variance explained) with each item loading ≥ 0.84 (eigenvalue 4.064), supporting use of a summative score of the 5 domains (range 0 = no flare to 50 = extreme flare) to adequately represent RA flares.

C. Criterion validity Not Tested
Comparison with a 'gold standard' Continuous scores:
correlations, ROC curves Dichotomus:
Sensitivity & Specificity (Describe)