Title of Assessment
Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (Quick DASH)
Author(s)
Carol A Kennedy, MSc, PT; Dorcas E. Beaton, PhD, BSc, OT; Sherra Solway, MSc, PT; Sara G. McConnell; and Claire Bombardier, MD
Year of Publication/Publisher
2006
Identify Type of Assessment
Standardized
Questionnaire-based
Ipsative Assessment
Cost & How to Access Assessment
Free
https://health.usf.edu/~/media/8DB21DBF340E499CAA267D772F1F601E.ashx
Population
The Quick DASH was developed to assess upper extremity disabilities in adults. While there is no set age limit, general guidelines are 18 to 65 years of age.
This is appropriate for adults with upper extremity injuries, arthritis, joint conditions, and pain.
Appropriate Settings
Outpatient clinics, acute care, and skilled nursing facilities.
Purpose of Assessment & Function(s)/Area(s) Assessed
To measure physical function and symptoms in people with musculoskeletal disorders of the upper limbs by assessing ability to perform specific activities regardless of how they are accomplished, degree of interference with performance, and symptoms.
Administration
Time to administer: 10 minutes
Completion of the Quick DASH is Individual.
There are no specific subtests to be completed before administering the Quick DASH. Therapists may choose to conduct preliminary assessments or evaluations to gather additional information about the individual’s condition to provide context for their Quick DASH scores.
User Qualifications
No formal qualifications needed.
Materials Required
Questionnaire and pen/pencil
Scoring Procedure
Quick DASH is a short form consisting of 10 questions plus optional modules. Items are rated on a 5-point scale (degree of difficulty or severity of symptom) according to the respondent’s condition during previous week. 1 indicates no difficulty or no symptoms, and 5 indicates unable to perform the activity or severe symptoms.
To calculate the total Quick DASH score, sum the scores for all items and then divide by the total number of items answered. Multiply this result by 25 to obtain the final score, which ranges from 0 to 100.
A score of:
0-20 = mild difficulty/disability
21-40 = moderate difficulty/disability
61-80+ = severe difficulty/disability
The highest score to receive on the quick DASH is 100 which concludes significant severe disability.
Psychometrics/Standardization (norms, reliability/validity studies)
Test-retest reliability found interclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.92 to 0.96
Convergent construct validity was based on correlation coefficients ranging from 0.65 to 0.89
Strengths & Weaknesses of Assessment
Strengths include:
Quick to administer
Provides a comprehensive assessment of upper extremity disability
Client-reported outcome
Scoring is standardized
Can track change over time
Weaknesses include:
Limited to age range – non applicable to pediatric populations
Reliance on self-report
Scored can be influenced by language and cultural factors
May not capture all aspects of upper extremity disabilities or address specific functional limitations
References
Asher, I. E. (2014). Asher’s occupational therapy assessment tools: An annotated index. American Occupational Therapy Association.
Shirley Ryan Abilitylab. (2015, September 9). Quick Disabilities of arm, shoulder, and hand. Shirley Ryan Abilitylab. Retrieved from https://www.sralab.org/rehabilitation-measures/quick-disabilities-arm-shoulder- hand
Wente, N. (n.d.). DASH outcome measure. Physiopedia. Retrieved from https://www.physio- pedia.com/DASH_Outcome_Measure