Skip Navigation

The European Journal of Public Health 1997 7(2):205-209; doi:10.1093/eurpub/7.2.205
© 1997 by European Journal of Public Health
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by ECCLES, M.
Right arrow Articles by MCCOLL, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by ECCLES, M.
Right arrow Articles by MCCOLL, E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

METHODS

Severity measurement using a generic instrument

A feasibility study in ambulatory care involving patients with diabetes or asthma

MARTIN ECCLES1,, NICK STEEN1, ALLEN HUTCHINSON2, COLIN BRADSHAW1 and ELAINE MCCOLL1

1 Centre for Health Services Research, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
2 Department of Public Health Medicine, University of Hull Hull, UK

Dr Martin Eccles, Centre for Health Services Research, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 21 Claremont Place, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 4AA, UK, tel. {boxplus}44 191 2226780, fax {boxplus}44 191 2226043

The object of the study was to assess the performance of a generic severity measure [the Duke severity of illness (DUSOI) scale] in ambulatory care in the UK. This was done in 2 settings. First, all 181 patients with non-insulin-requiring diabetes mellitus attending a single general practice had 4 retrospective ratings of severity of illness, 2 before and 2 after training of the rater. Secondly, a convenience sample of 232 patients with non-insulin-requiring diabetes mellitus and 376 patients with asthma from 57 general practices and 7 hospitals in the north of England had a single rating of severity of illness and completed a questionnaire on functional health status. From the first setting we estimated the test-retest reliability of the rating of severity: the intradass correlation coefficient for the 2 ratings before training was 0.72 and after it was 0.85. Training increased diagnosis identification by 0.91 (95% Cl: 0.72–1.1) diagnoses per patient. From the second setting we estimated the concurrent validity of the DUSOI scale as assessed by correlation with the functional health status measures. For 42% of patients with diabetes their diabetes was rated as their most severe diagnosis; for 85% of patients with asthma their asthma was rated as their most severe diagnosis. For patients with asthma the DUSOI scores correlated with physical health domains. For patients with diabetes similar correlations were much weaker. We conclude that the DUSOI scale is capable of reliable use and has concurrent validity. However, it requires further evaluation to fully establish its utility in UK ambulatory care.

Keywords: severity measurement, generic, reliability, validity, ambulatory care


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Fam PractHome page
I. Okkes, M Veldhuis, and H Lamberts
Severity of episodes of care assessed by family physicians and patients: The DUSOI/WONCA as an extension of the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC)
Fam. Pract., August 1, 2002; 19(4): 350 - 356.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.