Psychometric properties of the Musculoskeletal Function Assessment and the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment: a systematic review

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the psychometric properties of the Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (MFA) and Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA). Data sources: A systematic search of the following databases was undertaken concerning psychometric evidence of the MFA and SMFA: PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Cinahl. References of retrieved articles were inspected for additional data. Review method: Articles evaluating the validity, reliability or responsiveness of the MFA or SMFA in patients with musculoskeletal disorders were included in this systematic review. The methodological quality of included articles was critically appraised and the psychometric data were extracted using standardized forms. An established set of criteria were used to synthetize the evidence in order to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of included questionnaires and the gaps in the literature. Results: Nine articles on MFA and 24 articles on SMFA met the inclusion criteria. The SMFA fulfilled 75% of the psychometric criteria analyzed, while the MFA fulfilled only 50%. MFA and SMFA have excellent content validity and relative reliability (weighted average intraclass correlation coefficient ⩾ 0.87), and are moderately to highly responsive (standardized response mean between 0.65 and 1.13). Absolute reliability and clinically important difference of both questionnaires need to be defined, while the construct validity of MFA still needs to be established. Conclusion: MFA and SMFA are reliable and responsive tools for monitoring the function of patients with various musculoskeletal disorders. Still, research is needed to justify their usage in a clinical setting.