International Journal of Nursing Studies
Volume 47, Issue 5 , Pages 604-607, May 2010

Utility of the Oswestry Disability Index for studies of back pain related disability in nurses: Evaluation of psychometric and measurement properties

  • Anna P. Dawson

      Affiliations

    • Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain Injury and Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author at: Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain Injury and Health, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Brisbane, Australia. Tel.: +61 7 3346 7467; fax: +61 7 3365 2775.
    • ,
  • Emily J. Steele

      Affiliations

    • Discipline of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
    • ,
  • Paul W. Hodges

      Affiliations

    • Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain Injury and Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
    • ,
  • Simon Stewart

      Affiliations

    • Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia

Received 2 January 2009; received in revised form 25 July 2009; accepted 23 October 2009.

Abstract 

Background

Disability due to back pain in nurses results in reduced productivity, work absenteeism and attrition from the nursing workforce internationally. Consistent use of outcome measures is needed in intervention studies to enable meta-analyses that determine efficacy of back pain preventive programs.

Objective

This study investigated the psychometric and measurement properties of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) in nursing students to determine its suitability for assessing back pain related disability in intervention studies.

Methods

Bachelor of Nursing students were recruited. Test–retest reliability and the ability of the ODI to discriminate between individuals with serious and non-serious back pain were investigated. The measurement error of the ODI was examined with the minimal detectable change at the 90% confidence level (MDC90).

Results

Student nurses (n=214) had a low mean ODI score of 8.8±7.4%. Participants with serious back pain recorded higher scores than the rest of the cohort (p<0.05). Test–retest reliability examined in 33 individuals was ICC=0.88 (95%CI 0.77–0.94). The MDC90=6%, and 36% of nursing students scored below the MDC90 indicating the tool had limited ability to detect longitudinal change in disability in this population.

Conclusion

Data from this and previous studies demonstrate that the measurement properties of the ODI are inappropriate for studying back pain related disability in nurses. The ODI is not recommended for back pain intervention studies in the nursing population and an alternative tool that is sensitive to lower levels of disability must be determined.

Keywords: Back pain, Disability evaluation, Questionnaire, Nursing, Reliability (epidemiology), Minimal detectable change

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PII: S0020-7489(09)00349-6

doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.10.013

International Journal of Nursing Studies
Volume 47, Issue 5 , Pages 604-607, May 2010

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