Background: A questionnaire for patient self-assessment of shoulder function was designed. It was based on the internationally accepted Rowe score.
Method: Explanations and photographs were added to the various parameters to make them easier to understand for the patients. A total of 95 patients completed the assessment form. The validity was tested by a correlation analysis comparing the questionnaire with the original score.
Results: The questionnaire demonstrated a reproducible and significant (p<0.001), very high correlation (r>0.9) in the overall results and a moderate to very high correlation within single parameters (r>0.68).
Conclusion: Based on these results, it can be concluded that a valid and reproducible assessment of the original score is possible with the new questionnaire. Self-evaluation allows reliable assessment which is not dependent on the examiners or location, resulting in a higher number of patients reachable for follow-up studies.