@article {30, title = {Calibration of an item pool for assessing the burden of headaches: an application of item response theory to the Headache Impact Test (HIT)}, journal = {Quality of Life Research}, volume = {12}, number = {8}, year = {2003}, note = {0962-9343Journal Article}, pages = {913-933}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Measurement of headache impact is important in clinical trials, case detection, and the clinical monitoring of patients. Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) of headache impact has potential advantages over traditional fixed-length tests in terms of precision, relevance, real-time quality control and flexibility. OBJECTIVE: To develop an item pool that can be used for a computerized adaptive test of headache impact. METHODS: We analyzed responses to four well-known tests of headache impact from a population-based sample of recent headache sufferers (n = 1016). We used confirmatory factor analysis for categorical data and analyses based on item response theory (IRT). RESULTS: In factor analyses, we found very high correlations between the factors hypothesized by the original test constructers, both within and between the original questionnaires. These results suggest that a single score of headache impact is sufficient. We established a pool of 47 items which fitted the generalized partial credit IRT model. By simulating a computerized adaptive health test we showed that an adaptive test of only five items had a very high concordance with the score based on all items and that different worst-case item selection scenarios did not lead to bias. CONCLUSION: We have established a headache impact item pool that can be used in CAT of headache impact.}, keywords = {*Cost of Illness, *Decision Support Techniques, *Sickness Impact Profile, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Comparative Study, Disability Evaluation, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Headache/*psychology, Health Surveys, Human, Longitudinal Studies, Middle Aged, Migraine/psychology, Models, Psychological, Psychometrics/*methods, Quality of Life/*psychology, Software, Support, Non-U.S. Gov{\textquoteright}t}, author = {Bjorner, J. B. and Kosinski, M. and Ware, J. E., Jr.} }