The Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 (AIMS2) Calculator is a clinical tool designed to evaluate the impact of arthritis on a patient’s physical, emotional, and social well-being. The AIMS2 is a validated, patient-reported outcome measure that assesses the severity of symptoms and the degree to which arthritis affects a person’s daily life and functional ability. It is widely used in both clinical practice and research to monitor disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and improve the quality of care for patients with various types of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and psoriatic arthritis.
What is the AIMS2?
The Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 (AIMS2) is an updated version of the original AIMS, developed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the health status of patients with arthritis. The AIMS2 questionnaire covers multiple dimensions of health, including physical function, pain, social function, work, and psychological well-being. It consists of 78 items divided into 12 subscales that measure different aspects of health and quality of life affected by arthritis. These domains include:
- Physical Function: Assesses the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) such as walking, dressing, grooming, eating, and bathing.
- Pain: Evaluates the intensity and frequency of pain experienced by the patient due to arthritis.
- Social Function: Measures the impact of arthritis on the patient’s ability to participate in social and recreational activities.
- Work: Assesses the impact of arthritis on the patient’s work status and productivity.
- Emotional Well-being: Evaluates the psychological impact of arthritis, including feelings of anxiety, depression, and overall emotional health.
- Other Domains: Include hand and finger function, arm function, self-care ability, mobility, and role limitations due to physical or emotional problems.
The AIMS2 Calculator uses the patient’s responses to the questionnaire items to calculate scores for each subscale and an overall health score, providing a comprehensive picture of the impact of arthritis on the individual’s life.
How the AIMS2 Calculator Works
The AIMS2 Calculator works by taking the responses from the AIMS2 questionnaire and calculating scores for each subscale and a total impact score. Each item on the AIMS2 is scored on a Likert scale, usually ranging from 1 (no impact) to 5 (severe impact). The scores for items within each subscale are summed and then converted into a standardized score to facilitate comparison across different domains.
The formula for calculating each domain score typically involves the following steps:
- Calculate Raw Scores: For each domain (e.g., physical function, pain, social function), sum the scores of the individual items.
- Normalize Scores: Convert the raw scores to a standardized score on a scale from 0 to 10, where higher scores indicate a greater impact of arthritis on that domain.
- Calculate Overall AIMS2 Score: The overall score is derived by averaging the standardized scores of all domains, providing a single metric that reflects the overall impact of arthritis on the patient’s health and quality of life.
- Interpret the Results: The standardized scores and overall AIMS2 score are used to assess the severity of arthritis symptoms and their impact on daily living. Lower scores suggest better health status and less impact, while higher scores indicate greater impairment.
How to Use the AIMS2 Calculator
To use the AIMS2 Calculator, healthcare providers or researchers follow these steps:
- Administer the AIMS2 Questionnaire: The patient completes the AIMS2 questionnaire by responding to each item based on their experiences over a specific period, usually the past month. The questionnaire can be self-administered or completed with assistance if needed.
- Input Responses into the Calculator: The scores for each response are entered into the AIMS2 Calculator, which is programmed to compute the raw scores for each domain.
- Compute Domain and Overall Scores: The calculator automatically sums the raw scores for each domain, normalizes them, and calculates an overall score to provide a comprehensive assessment of arthritis impact.
- Interpret the Scores: The healthcare provider reviews the scores for each domain and the overall impact score to identify areas where the patient is most affected and to determine appropriate interventions.
Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS2) Calculator
Please select your responses for each question to calculate the AIMS2 score.
