Table 3.

Hand specific data to be collected only at 18 months and 3 years

Concept	Measurement method	Details
Perceived change in hand problem since baseline	Transition index [48]‡	completely recovered, much better, better, no change, worse, much worse
Health care related to hand problem since baseline	Hand injury	yes, no
	Hand operation	yes, no
	Consulted GP in past 18 months†	yes, no
	NHS and private services used in past 18 months† (adapted from [36])	yes, no to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, hospital specialist, acupuncture, osteopath/chiropractor, drugs on prescription, hand operation, hand injection, other
Occupational impact since baseline	Time off work	yes, no
	Stopped work	yes, no
Hand pain and hand symptoms	Days of hand swelling in past month	all, most, some, few, no
	Days of hand pain in past 6 months^ [22]	no, 1–30, 31–89, 90+ days
	Hand pain severity in past 6 months^	numerical rating scale (1–10)
Coping strategies for hand pain	Single-item Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) [49]	numerical rating scale (0–7) with verbal anchors (never do that, always do that)
Illness perceptions	Shortened version adapted from IPQ-R [35]	6 dimensions: illness coherence, personal control, timeline (acute/chronic), timeline (cyclical), consequences, emotional representation
Management/self-help	7 treatments/self-help activities tried in past month: simple painkiller; anti-inflammatory tablets; creams, gels, or rubs; glucosamine or chondroitin sulphate; warmth, heat; cold; hand exercises	yes, no
Narrative account	Open-ended question: course of hand pain and problems‡	free text

^‡ Minimum data to be sought at 18 months and 3 years from non-responders; ^†Data only gathered at 18 months; ^Data only gathered at 3 years