Table 3.

Global and domain-specific anchors used across studies

	Back pain study	Cancer study	CHF study	COPD study	Depression study	Rheumatoid arthritis
Global anchors:
	Is your health…? [excellent, very good, good, fair, poor]	In general, would you say your health is…?[excellent, very good, good, fair, poor]	How has your overall health changed since your heart transplant? [got a lot better, got a little better, stayed the same, got a little worse, got a lot worse]	Has there been any change in your overall health since you started the study? [very much better, moderately better, a little better, about the same, a little worse, moderately worse, very much worse]	Is your health…? [excellent, very good, good, fair, poor]	In general, would you say your current health is…? [excellent, very good, good, fair, poor]
Instrument
Domain-specific anchors:
Anger				How often have you been bothered by emotional problems such as feeling anxious, depressed or irritable? [never, rarely, sometimes, often, always]
Anxiety		Since the last time you filled out a questionnaire, your level of anxiety is…[very much better, moderately better, a little better, about the same, a little worse, moderately worse, very much worse]		How often have you been bothered by emotional problems such as feeling anxious, depressed or irritable? [never, rarely, sometimes, often, always]
Depression	Compared to your first appointment…How would you rate your current level of depression? [much better, somewhat better, no change, somewhat worse, much worse]	Since the last time you filled out a questionnaire, your level of depression is…[very much better, moderately better, a little better, about the same, a little worse, moderately worse, very much worse]	How has your depression changed since your heart transplant? [got a lot better, got a little better, stayed the same, got a little worse, got a lot worse]	How often have you been bothered by emotional problems such as feeling anxious, depressed or irritable?[never, rarely, sometimes, often, always]	Compared to your first appointment…How would you rate your current level of depression? [much better, somewhat better, no change, somewhat worse, much worse]
Fatigue		Since the last time you filled out a questionnaire, your level of fatigue is…[very much better, moderately better, a little better, about the same, a little worse, moderately worse, very much worse]	How has your fatigue changed since your heart transplant? [got a lot better, got a little better, stayed the same, got a little worse, got a lot worse]	How would you rate your fatigue on average? [none, mild, moderate, severe, very severe]		How has your fatigue changed? [got a lot better, got a little better, stayed the same, got a little worse, Got a lot worse]
Physical function		Since the last time you filled out a questionnaire, your physical function is…[very much better, moderately better, a little better, about the same, a little worse, moderately worse, very much worse]	How has your ability to carry out your everyday physical activities changed since your heart transplant? [got a lot better, got a little better, stayed the same, got a little worse, got a lot worse]	To what extent are you able to carry out your everyday physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, carrying groceries, or moving a chair? [completely, mostly, moderately, a little, not at all]		How has your ability to carry out your everyday physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, carrying groceries, or moving a chair changed? [got a lot better, got a little better, stayed the same, got a little worse, got a lot worse]
Pain	Compared to your first appointment, how would you rate your current back pain? [much better, somewhat better, no change, somewhat worse, much worse]	Since the last time you filled out a questionnaire, your level of pain is…[very much better, moderately better, a little better, about the same, a little worse, moderately worse, very much worse]		How would you rate your pain on average? [0 to 10]	When you had back pain, how would you rate your average pain? [0 to 10]	How has your pain changed? [got a lot better, got a little better, stayed the same, got a little worse, got a lot worse]
Social			How has your ability to carry out your usual social activities and roles changed since your heart transplant? [got a lot better, got a little better, stayed the same, got a little worse, got a lot worse]	In general, how would you rate your satisfaction with your social activities and relationships? [excellent, very good, good, fair, poor]

Abbreviations: CHF, chronic heart failure; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

For consistency of presentation, the order of response category options are reversed from the direction they were presented to patients.