The Osteoarthritis Scale was developed by an international group of clinicians, researchers, and people who live with osteoarthritis.
This page contains information about the development and use of the OAKS and versions that can be developed and used.
The OAKS ' source can be cited as:
Ben Darlow, Haxby Abbott, Kim Bennell, Andrew M. Briggs, Melanie Brown, Jane Clark, Sarah Dean, Simon French, Rana S. Hinman, Chris Krägeloh, Ben Metcalf, Daniel O'Brien, James Stanley, and Jackie L. Whittaker. 2021. 'Knowledge about osteoarthritis: Development of the Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis Knowledge Scales and protocol for testing their measurement properties', Osteoarthritis Cartilage Open, 3: 100160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocarto.2021.100160
Development
The OAKS was developed based on international consensus on important knowledge for people with knee or hip osteoarthritis. The team that developed the OAKS included clinicians, researchers, and consumer research partners from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It measures knowledge about causation, diagnosis, symptom interpretation, management principles, treatment and self-care options
Versions are available to measure knowledge about hip or knee osteoarthritis. Items are worded so that the OAKS can also be answered by people who do not have osteoarthritis.
The measurement properties of the OAKS have been assessed in people with and without hip and knee osteoarthritis:
Darlow, B., Krägeloh, C., Abbott, J. H., Bennell, K., Briggs, A. M., Brown, M., Clark, J., Dean, S., French, S., Hinman, R. S., Lawford, B. J., O’Brien, D., Whittaker, J. L., & Stanley, J. (2023). The osteoarthritis knowledge scale. Musculoskeletal Care, 21(2), 516–526. https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1727
Scoring
There are 11-items that contribute to the score. Each item presents a statement with a five-point Likert scale scored from 1 to 5. Respondents are asked to rate each statement as False (1), Possibly False (2), Unsure (3), Possibly True (4), or True (5).
To compute the score, reverse score items 1,2, 3, 4, 7, and 11 and add these to items 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. Total scores for the scale range from 11 to 55, and higher scores indicate greater knowledge about osteoarthritis.
Ordinal scores can be converted to to logit units or scores that maintain the original ordinal score range of 11 to 55.
A script is also available for the R statistical computing environment with functions to (a) automate scoring of the OAKS scale based on original responses to the 11-item scale (including reverse scoring for appropriate items); and (b) to convert the ordinal OAKS scores into the interval-scale format.
Translations
Four translations from the original English version are currently available and a further translation (Norwegian) is currently underway.
Further translations may be made to other languages. Translations should be published on this site and no restrictions should be made on their use.
If you wish to translate the Back-PAQ using a rigorous translation process, please contact:
Associate Professor Ben Darlow
Email ben.darlow@otago.ac.nz (subject: OAKS translation enquiry)
Chinese
The OAKS had been translated into Chinese by Ziru Wang and colleagues from The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, China.
A publication describing the translation and psychometric properties of the Chinese version is available:
Wang, Z., Darlow, B., Deng, H., & Ni, G. (2024). Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and measurement properties of the Simplified Chinese Version of the Osteoarthritis Knowledge Scale. Musculoskeletal Care, 22(4), e1957.
https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1957
Dutch
The OAKS has been translated into Dutch by Joyce Vrijsen, Inge van den Akker-Scheek, and Martin Stevens from the University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Orthopaedics, The Netherlands, in cooperation with Gesine H. Seeber from the University Hospital for Orthopedics, Medical Campus Pius-Hospital, University of Oldenburg, Germany, and Ben Darlow. A validation study is currently underway.
German
The OAKS has been translated into German by Gesine H. Seeber from the University Hospital for Orthopedics, Medical Campus Pius-Hospital, University of Oldenburg, Germany, in cooperation with Joyce Vrijsen, Inge van den Akker-Scheek, and Martin Stevens from the University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Orthopaedics, The Netherlands, and Ben Darlow. A validation study is currently underway.
Norwegian
The OAKS has been translated to Norwegian by Anne Therese Tveter and colleagues from the Center for Treatment of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway. A validation study is currently underway.
Turkish
The OAKS has been translated into Turkish by Hilal Ata Tay and Gonul Acar from Marmara University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Turkey, in cooperation with Mert Gundogdu, Murat Kaya, and Hasan Hilmi Muratli from Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, Marmara University Hospital, Turkey, and Ben Darlow.
A publication describing the translation and psychometric properties of the Turkish version is available:
Ata Tay, H., Acar, G., Gündoğdu, M., Kaya, M., Muratli, H.H. and Darlow, B. (2024). Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Osteoarthritis Knowledge Scale Into Turkish. Musculoskeletal Care, 22: e1939.
https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1939
Versions for download and use
REDCap
Instrument zip files that can be uploaded to REDCap are available here:
English
Chinese
Dutch
German
Turkish
Questions
If you have any questions, please contact:
Email ben.darlow@otago.ac.nz