Week 8: More About The Survey

Today, I wanted to introduce some parts of the survey in detail. One section in particular is adapted from the PROMIS Pediatric Scale (v1.0, 7+2). This questionnaire consists of 9 questions that ask the participant to give a ranking for each question on a scale from 1-5. For some questions, 1 corresponds with “poor” and 5 corresponds with “excellent,” and on other questions the scale ranges from 1 being “always” to 5 being “never.” I accessed this scale through the HealthMeasures website.  

Another part of the survey questions is from the Self-Estimated Functional Inability because of Pain (SEFIP) screening questionnaire, which is a health measurement instrument that allows dancers to report their experience of musculoskeletal pain. For each of fourteen regions of the body, dancers are asked to check a box corresponding to how they are feeling ranging between the numbers 0 (very well) and 4 (can not work in the production because of pain). I was able to find and read two validation studies for SEFIP-dance, one for the original English version (Ramel 1999) and another for a translated Brazilian version of the questionnaire. This validation study of the Brazilian SEFIP-dance, conducted by Muribeca-de-Castro et al, notes a limitation to this questionnaire. They state, “SEFIP-dance total score does not represent disability completely well,” mentioning as an example that a dancer who reports slight pain in every part of the body but is still able to dance will receive a much higher SEFIP score than a dancer who may be unable to dance due to pain in one area of the body (but is fine in every other region).2 This limitation will be something important that I keep in mind while analyzing and contextualizing survey results for these SEFIP questions. 

1. Ramel EM, Moritz U, Jarnlo GB. Validation Of A Pain Questionnaire (SEFIP) For Dancers With A Specially Created Test Battery. Med Probl Perform Art. 1999;14(4):196-203. Http://Www.Jstor.Org/Stable/45440048
2. Muribeca-De-Castro AM, Pinheiro JS, Cordeiro MEC, Et Al. Brazilian Version Of The Self-Estimated Functional Inability Because Of Pain In Dancers: A Validation Study. J Chiropr Med. 2021;20(2):53-58. Doi:10.1016/J.Jcm.2021.09.002