Good agreement between self-report and centralized hospitalizations data for arthritis-related surgeries

Objective: To examine the level of agreement between self-reported and hospital administration records of arthritis related surgeries for two large samples of community dwelling older women in Australia, born between 1921-1926 and 1946-1951. Study Design and Setting: Self-report survey data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) was linked to inpatient hospital data from the New South Wales Admitted Patient Data Collection (NSW APDC). Levels of agreement were compared using Cohen’s kappa, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. Reasons for false positives were examined. Results: This study found good agreement (kappa > 0.70; sensitivity and specificity > 0.80) between self-report and hospitalisations data for arthritis related surgeries. Conclusion: This study provides new evidence for good agreement between self-reported health survey data and administrative records of arthritis related joint procedures, and supports the use of self-report surveys in epidemiological studies of joint procedures where administrative data are not available or not readily accessible, or where more extensive contextual information is needed. The use of health survey data in conjunction with administrative data has an important role to play in public health planning and policy.