Measure Development

Development of Item Pools

The BPD-MS team utilized a rigorous, multi-phase process to develop BPD-MS item pools. First, to identify the important BPD-specific HRQOL domains, literature reviews and focus group studies were conducted. Focus groups were conducted with different groups, including civilians with spinal cord injury, Veterans with spinal cord injury and clinical health care providers. Focus group discussions were analyzed to identify the most important BPD issues affecting quality of life and daily activities.

The next step of the development of BPD-MS was to create preliminary item pools examining the impact of high blood pressure (HBP) and low blood pressure (LBP) on HRQOL and the impact of LBP on daily activities. Each item pool went through several different iterations based on expert review, translatability review, literacy review, and cognitive debriefing interviews with individuals with spinal cord injury.

Field Testing

BPD item pools, containing 180 total items, were administered to 454 individuals with spinal cord injury from three sites: 1) the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (NNJSCIS) at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation; 2) the James J. Peters VA Medical Center (JJPVAMC); and 3) the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital (JAHVH). Statistical analyses were conducted, and the best items were included in the 3 final BPD-MS item banks (measures). The measures include LBP-HRQOL (55 items), AD-HRQOL (75 items) and LBP-ADL (20 items). 10-item static short forms were selected by the study's investigative team based on their psychometric properties and their clinical content.

More information on the development process can be found in the published manuscripts. You can find the links to the manuscripts on the Publications page of this website.

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