Comparison between Face-to-Face and Telephone DASH Interviews in Hand Patients

Background. The Filipino version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Questionnaire (FIL-DASH) is a patient-reported outcome measure validated for assessment during a face-to-face consult. When in-person consults are not feasible, such as during periods of lockdown or geographical limitations, patient outcomes should still be measured accurately.Objective. To compare the Filipino Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (FIL-DASH) scores of patients with hand disorders during face-to-face and telephone interviews.Methodology. This was a pilot prospective comparative study. Patients aged 18 to 60 years with various chronic hand and upper extremity conditions seen at the Hand and Microvascular Surgery outpatient department of the Philippine General Hospital had face-to-face FIL-DASH interviews conducted by a trained interviewer. The same interviewer conducted a telephone FIL-DASH interview on these same patients after seven days. Survey information was collected and encoded using an electronic spreadsheet file. Descriptive statistics such as mean, median, frequency, and percentage were used to describe the clinical characteristics of the study participants. A paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the mean FIL-DASH scores between face-to-face and telephone modes. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine the relationship of the FIL-DASH scores obtained from face-to-face and telephone interviews.Result. There were 79 respondents included in the study. The FIL-DASH scores from telephone interviews were significantly lower than the scores from face-to-face consults. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was estimated to be 0.96, with a range of 0.94–0.98 (p <0.01). This showed a strong, positive relationship between FIL-DASH measured in both modes with a high correlation coefficient.Conclusion. Despite FIL-dash scores from telephone interviews being lower, the study showed a strong correlationbetween the face-to-face and telephone FIL-DASH scores. This supports the use of the assessment of the FIL-DASHvia telephone interview.