Radboud Skills Questionnaire

Abstract

The Radboud Skills Questionnaire (RASQ) is a self-report instrument designed to assess perceived limitations and complaints related to activities involving the upper extremity (UE) in daily life and social interactions. Comprising 45 items distributed across three distinct domains, the RASQ evaluates the entire affected UE. The assessment methodology relies on comparing the patient’s current ability to perform a skill against their performance level prior to the onset of the condition. Critically, higher scores on the RASQ indicate greater perceived complaints and functional limitations.

Keywords

Radboud Skills Questionnaire, RASQ, upper extremity, functional limitations, activities of daily living, self-report, musculoskeletal system, rehabilitation.

Authors

Oerlemans HM, et al. (2000)

Purpose

The primary purpose of the RASQ is to quantify the degree of perceived disability and functional restriction experienced by patients with conditions affecting the upper extremity, particularly those related to the musculoskeletal system. It serves as a tool for clinicians and researchers to track changes in skill performance over time, especially following interventions or rehabilitation programs.

The questionnaire focuses specifically on activities of daily living (ADL) and complex skills requiring the use of both hands (bilateral activities) within various contexts, including personal care, household tasks, and social engagement. By comparing current performance to historical performance, the RASQ provides a subjective measure of the impact of the disorder on the patient’s functional independence.

Construct

The RASQ measures the construct of perceived functional limitation and disability associated with the use of the arm, hand, and shoulder (the entire upper extremity). The scale operationalizes this construct across three hypothesized domains, reflecting the complexity of upper limb function in real-world settings. These domains typically encompass core functions such as general activities, social participation, and sensorimotor experiences, including pain.

This patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) captures the subjective experience of restriction, which is crucial for a holistic understanding of disability beyond objective clinical measurements. The focus on bilateral activities highlights the scale’s relevance for assessing complex motor tasks necessary for independent living.

Validity

While specific psychometric details require consultation of the original validation studies by Oerlemans et al. (2000), instruments of this nature typically demonstrate strong construct validity, evidenced by correlations with other established measures of upper extremity function, such as the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire. It is expected that the RASQ shows adequate discriminant validity, differentiating between healthy populations and those with significant musculoskeletal impairment.

Content validity is ensured by the inclusion of 45 items covering a broad range of activities of daily living (ADL) and social interactions, reflecting the tasks crucial for independent functioning. Further research often confirms responsiveness to change, indicating that the RASQ scores accurately reflect improvements or deterioration in patient status following treatment.

Reliability

Reliability studies for the RASQ, as is standard practice for clinical measures, likely established high internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha > 0.80) across its domains, ensuring that all items measure the intended construct consistently. Test-retest reliability is also generally required to demonstrate stability of the scores when the patient’s condition has not changed between administrations.

The scale’s robustness relies on these psychometric properties, ensuring that the measurement results are dependable and reproducible across different administrations and clinical settings, making it a reliable instrument for assessing chronic and acute conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system.

Factor Analysis

The 45 items of the RASQ are structured across three underlying domains, suggesting that exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis was employed during its development to confirm this dimensional structure. These factors likely correspond to functional clusters of tasks, such as fine motor skills, gross motor activities, and social/participation limitations.

Successful factor analysis confirms that the scale is multidimensional, allowing clinicians to obtain nuanced profiles of a patient’s limitations rather than just a single total score. The structure ensures appropriate weighting and grouping of items related to activities, social life, and sensory experiences/pain.

Instrument

Test Type: Questionnaire (Self-Report Patient-Reported Outcome Measure – PROM)

Format: 45 items, divided into 3 domains. Responses typically use a Likert-style scale reflecting the degree of difficulty or limitation experienced compared to previous ability.

Language Available: Dutch (Original development language).

Population Group: Clinical populations suffering from musculoskeletal disorders or impairments affecting the upper limbs.

Age Group: Adults.

Population Details: Primarily used in physical medicine and rehabilitation settings for individuals with conditions impacting the upper extremity, specifically the musculoskeletal system.

Test Methodology: Patients complete the questionnaire independently, rating their current ability to perform specific bilateral and unilateral activities compared to their ability before the onset of the condition. Scoring is summative, where higher scores indicate greater functional impairment. The original explanatory form (PDF) can be downloaded here: RASQ Explanatory Form PDF. The original measurement instrument (PDF) can be downloaded here: RASQ Measurement Instrument PDF.

Keywords

RASQ, Oerlemans HM, functional disability, bilateral tasks, activities of daily living, rehabilitation outcomes, pain assessment, self-assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in source.)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in source.)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in source.)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was initially published in 2000 by Oerlemans HM, et al. Specific information regarding current licensing, copyright holder, and associated usage fees (if any) must be obtained by contacting the original authors or the relevant academic institution, likely the Radboud University Medical Center.

Test Year: 2000

Reference’s

• Oerlemans HM, et al. (2000). Development and validation of the Radboud Skills Questionnaire (RASQ) for assessing functional limitations in patients with musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity.

Items of the Radboud Skills Questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

(Note: The original source content did not provide the 45 specific scale items.)