Paper vs. Internet (P vs I)

Internet-administered Adolescent Scoliosis Questionnaires Compared With Traditional Pencil and Paper Versions: a Randomized Crossover Design

Research has shown that questionnaires completed on the internet have the potential to provide more complete and honest data with fewer errors in a more efficient manner than questionnaires completed using the paper and pencil format. Despite the numerous advantages of internet-administered questionnaires, it is important to make sure that the internet questionnaires will yield comparable results to the well-established paper and pencil versions. No one has studied internet administration of scoliosis specific questionnaires in adolescents with scoliosis. The investigators will test whether the internet administration of scoliosis questionnaires is as reliable as the traditional paper and pencil version. The investigators predict that the internet-administered questionnaire will provide the same reliability as the paper-administered questionnaires.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Adolescent; Idiopathic Scoliosis

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 139

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • British Columbia
    • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6H 3V4
      • British Columbia Children's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 10 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis will be asked to participate during visits to the orthopaedic spine clinic at BC Children's Hospital

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 10-18
• Male or female
• Diagnosis of Adolescent or Juvenile Idiopathic Scoliosis
• Home access to computer and internet
• Capable or oral and written communication in English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unable to communicate in English

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

4

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Paper/Paper; This group will complete paper questionnaires at baseline and two week follow up.
Paper/Internet; This group will complete paper questionnaires at baseline and internet questionnaires at two week follow up.
Internet/Paper; This group will complete internet questionnaires at baseline and paper questionnaires at two week follow up.
Internet/Internet; This group will complete internet questionnaires at baseline and two week follow up.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
To test the reliability of the internet-administered PODCI and SRS-30 questionnaires in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis	The reliability of internet-administered questionnaires will be determined by comparison to standard paper questionnaire implementation.	2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of British Columbia
• Collaborators: iACT - Innovations in Acute Care and Technology
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Chris Reilly, MD, FRCSC, University of British Columbia

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: August 1, 2010
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 17, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 18, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): January 21, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): June 23, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 20, 2014
• Last Verified: June 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Adolescents; Scoliosis; Reliability; Questionnaire
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Musculoskeletal Diseases; Spinal Diseases; Bone Diseases; Spinal Curvatures; Scoliosis
• Other Study ID Numbers: H10-01785; CW10-0184 (Other Identifier: UBC C&W Research Ethics Board)