Table 1

EULAR Points to Consider when designing, analysing and reporting studies with work participation as a primary or secondary outcome domain: LoE, SoR and LoA

 LoE (0–5)SoRLoA
(0–10)
Mean (SD)% with score ≥8
Overarching principles 
1. Work participation is important for people with inflammatory arthritis, their families and society as a whole.n.an.a9.6 (0.7)100
2. There are unique methodological aspects around designing, analysing and reporting studies with work participation as an outcome that require specific attention.n.an.a9.5 (0.7)100
Points to consider 
1. In studies with work participation as primary or secondary outcome the study design, the study duration and the choice of work participation outcome domains and measurement instruments should be considered in relation to the work-related study objective.5D9.7 (0.6)100
2. In studies with work participation as primary or secondary outcome, the power to detect meaningful effects deserves particular attention as work participation outcomes may not apply to the entire study population.5D9.6 (0.8)96
3. The work participation outcome domains (eg, work status, absenteeism, presenteeism) should be clearly defined and assessed with validated measurement instruments.5D8.6 (0.8)91
4. Key contextual factors (eg, job type, social security system),
that is, contextual factors that are highly likely to confound or modify work participation outcomes, have to be identified upfront, considered in the study design and appropriately accounted for in the analysis.		5D9.1 (1.3)87
5. Interdependence among different work participation outcome domains (eg, between absenteeism and presenteeism) should be taken into account in the analyses.5D9.4 (0.8)100
6. Populations included in the analysis of each work participation outcome domain should be specified and relevant characteristics described.5D9.1 (1.3)83
7. In longitudinal studies work status should be regularly assessed and changes reported.5D9.3 (1.0)91
8. Reporting both aggregated results (eg, mean/median) and proportions of individuals based on predefined meaningful categories (eg, no sick leave) should be considered.5D9.3 (1.6)91
9. In studies assessing costs of changes in work participation, volumes of work productivity (eg, days, hours) should also be reported.5D9.3 (1.3)91

  • LoE: 1–5 (5 indicating evidence from expert committee reports or opinions and/or clinical experience of respected authorities, and/or evidence extrapolated for quasi experimental or descriptive studies)17; SoR: A to D (D indicating troublingly inconsistent or inconclusive studies of any level).18

  • LoA, level of agreement; LoE, level of evidence; n.a, not applicable; SoR, strength of recommendation.