Use of the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

We read with great interest the recent review of Lareau and Blackstock,[1] detailing functional status measures for use in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In their article the authors excluded a new patient-reported outcome measure (PROM), the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire (Ox-PAQ), as at the time of review the Ox-PAQ had no known use in COPD. As developers of the Ox-PAQ, we would like to highlight two recently published studies that administered the measure to a sample that included people with COPD.[2,3] Results from these studies indicate that the Ox-PAQ is acceptable to respondents as well as a reliable and valid measure of people in this group.

In brief, the Ox-PAQ is a generic measure of activity and participation that is fully compliant with current best practice guidance for the development of PROMs. The development process included stakeholder consultation, patient interviews to facilitate item generation, cognitive interviews and expert review.[4] Subsequent psychometric analyses identified three domains, all of which demonstrate sound psychometric properties in terms of validity and reliability.[5] One of the aforementioned recently published studies (which included people with COPD) also indicates that the Ox-PAQ is sensitive to change in terms of improvement in health status.[3]

Given the availability of current evidence, we believe that the Ox-PAQ can be successfully administered to people with COPD. Further validation of the measure will follow as the Ox-PAQ is incorporated in research studies and clinical trials.

Further information and details on how to obtain a licence to use the Ox-PAQ can be found at https://innovation.ox.ac.uk/outcome-measures/oxford-participation-activities-questionnaire-ox-paq/