FREE TO NON-PROFIT USERS
use in research and clinical practice

SHORT INDEPENDENTLY FUNCTIONING SCALES
choose the scales you need for your study or clinic

MEASURING WHAT MATTERS TO PATIENTS
appearance, quality of life, symptoms

Man man with scar on his shoulder. Laser Scar Reduction concept

USED WIDELY AROUND THE WORLD
available in multiple languages

European woman with long abdominal scars after operation standing on black color

STRONG PSYCHOMETRIC PERFORMANCE
rigorously developed and sensitive to clinical change

SCAR-Q

For children and adults (aged > 8 years)

CONCEPT-DRIVEN APPROACH

The SCAR-Q was developed from scar information provided by 52 children and 192 adults who took part in concept elicitation interviews to develop BREAST-Q, FACE-Q (aesthetic, head/neck cancer, skin cancer, and craniofacial), BODY-Q, and CLEFT-Q. To establish content validity, we conducted cognitive interviews with 25 adults and 20 children with scars, and obtained input from 27 clinical experts. The SCAR-Q was then field-tested in a sample of 731 patients from 4 countries.

MODULAR DESIGN

The SCAR-Q is for children and adults aged ages 8 years and older with any type of surgical, traumatic and/or burns scar. The SCAR-Q has 3 independently functioning scales that measure scar appearance, scar symptoms and psychosocial impact. One or more scales can be used depending on the outcomes of interest in any given study or clinical situation.

Advancing Knowledge &
Improving Health Outcomes

Research

Field-tested with 731 surgical, traumatic and burn patients in 4 countries.

Industry

Can be used in international clinical trials to test different scar therapies.

Benchmarking

Can be used to benchmark outcomes in quality improvement initiatives.

Patient Care

Designed using a modern psychometric approach to facilitate use in patient care.

Scale Structure

In clinical trials of treatments for scars, symptoms and psychosocial distress are important outcomes. But scar appearance is also important to patients. The SCAR-Q represents a rigorously developed patient-reported outcome measure that provides a comprehensive scar appearance scale, and 2 other scales that measure outcomes important to children and adults with scars. Since its publication in 2018, SCAR-Q has been licensed in over 30 countries. Clinicians and researchers are able to administer the specific scales relevant to their situation.

SCAR APPEARANCE

This scale measures scar appearance in terms of a range of characteristics of a scar, including the size, color, contour, visibility and how it looks in scenarios (e.g., up close).

SCAR SYMPTOMS

This scale measures how bothered someone is by symptoms such as the scar feeling itchy, painful, or tight.

PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACT

This scale measures the psychosocial impact of having a scar, including feeling self-conscious, unhappy, or embarrassed about the scar, and concealment behaviors.

CO-DEVELOPERS

Dr Anne Klassen

McMaster University, Canada

Dr Andrea Pusic

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, USA