Questionnaire Information

Multidimensional HAQ (MDHAQ)

The activities chosen for the MHAQ generally were the simplest among the two or three within each HAQ category, as the other activities were not performed by all patients, such as “shampoo your hair” or “take a tub bath.” Therefore, MHAQ scores were systematically 0.3-0.4 units lower than HAQ scores. Furthermore, as the status of patients improved in the 1990s, scores of 0 in patients who had recognized functional disability, known as “floor effects,” were seen increasingly for both the MHAQ and the HAQ. In order to address these concerns, a multidimensional HAQ (MDHAQ) was developed and reported, in 1999, to include complex activities and psychological status. The MDHAQ reduced the proportion of patients with floor effects for the HAQ and the MHAQ, from 16% and 23%, respectively, to only 5%.

RAPID3

RAPID3 is a simple composite index of physical function, pain, and patient global estimate, each scored 0-10, for a total of 30. In clinical trials, RAPID3 is compiled from the HAQ, with 20 activities of daily living (ADLs) to score physical function and two 10-cm line visual analog scales (VAS) for pain and patient estimate of global status.22 In clinical care, RAPID3 is compiled from an MDHAQ, with 10 activities to score physical function and two 21-circle VAS scores for pain and patient global estimate.