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ITEM LIBRARIES AND ITEM BANKS

MEASURING WHAT MATTERS TO PATIENTS

MEASURES HOW SKIN FEELS AND LOOKS

Smiling older gentleman of colour

STRONG PSYCHOMETRIC PERFORMANCE

CONCEPT-DRIVEN APPROACH

As the aesthetics field continues to innovate, it is important that outcomes are evaluated with rigorously designed clinical outcome assessment tools. The SKIN-Q is an innovative patient-reported outcome measure designed to evaluate outcomes of minimally invasive aesthetic treatments of the face and body. Concept elicitation data from 26 participants was used to form 2 item libraries that measure satisfaction with how the skin looks and feels and a treatment outcome scale. Input from 12 experts, 11 patients, and 189 online participants was used to finalize a version of the SKIN-Q for field testing. Psychometric analysis was performed on data provided by 657 study participants.

CUSTOMIZED DESIGN

The SKIN-Q represents 2 comprehensive item libraries designed to measure how the skin feels and looks and a 10-item Treatment Outcome scale. The SKIN-Q item libraries can be used to customize fit-for-purpose short-form scales to maximize content validity and reduce patient burden. More specifically, sub-sets of items can be selected and scored by calibrating scores to the full set of items (i.e., item-bank approach), or scored using estimates from independent samples (i.e., item-library approach). From the set of items, we published 5 example short-form scales that can be used to measure skin-related concerns (e.g., skin quality, rejuvenation).

Advancing Knowledge &
Improving Health Outcomes

Research

Field-tested with 657 participants from the US, Canada and UK.

Industry

Can be used in clinical trials of minimally invasive aesthetic treatments (face or body).

Patient Care

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

SKIN-Q Approach

While standard practice for the design of patient-reported outcome measures involves the development of short-form scales with a limited set of items, more recently, item libraries and item banks have been developed to provide a more flexible approach. To evaluate outcomes for aesthetic treatments that target the skin, we developed a comprehensive set of items to measure satisfaction with how the skin feels and looks and provide a way to customize fit-for-purpose scales. In this approach, sub-sets of items can be selected from the full set and scored by calibrating scores to the full set of items (i.e., item-bank approach), or scored using estimates from independent samples (i.e., item-library approach). The short-form approach aims to minimize respondent burden while maximizing content validity.

HOW SKIN LOOKS

SKIN-Q includes 46 items that measure satisfaction with how skin on the body and/or face looks. Three short-form scales were created using the item library. The first scale includes 7 items that measure facial movement (e.g., smile, raise eyebrows, frown). The second scale includes 9 items that measure skin rejuvenation (e.g., youthful, glow, radiant, fresh). The third scale includes 12 items that measure skin quality (e.g., firm, smooth, hydrated, elasticity).

HOW SKIN FEELS

The SKIN-Q includes 20 items that measure satisfaction with how skin on the face and/or body feels. Two example short-form scales were created to illustrate the use of the item set. The first scale includes 6 items that measures skin rejuvenation (e.g., youthful, refreshed, rejuvenated, healthy). The second scale includes 9 items that measures skin quality (e.g., firm, elasticity, hydrated, smooth).

TREATMENT OUTCOME

The SKIN-Q includes 10 items that measure satisfaction with the outcome of treatment. Items ask about change in appearance (e.g., look better) and well-being (e.g., feel more confident). This SKIN-Q scale can be used alongside other patient-centered outcome tools to measure how patients look and feel after minimally invasive aesthetic treatments for the body and/or face.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

ITEM LIBRARIES

Co-Developers

Dr Anne Klassen

Dr Anne Klassen

McMaster University, CA
Dr Andrea Pusic

Dr Andrea Pusic

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, US
Dr Stefan Cano

Dr Stefan Cano

Modus Outcomes, UK

Questions?