Do I need permission to use the MHQ?

Yes (although it is free for academic institutions/non-profits). Please complete the appropriate license via the University of Michigan Office of Tech Transfer.

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Which conditions can I evaluate with the MHQ?

The MHQ has already been used for a variety of conditions, and is appropriate for any condition or injury of the hand(s) and/or wrist(s).

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Which populations can I test with the MHQ?

The MHQ has been validated for use in adults over the age of 18. At this time, the MHQ has not been validated for use in children; studies are underway to do this.

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Are there population norms for the MHQ?

Yes, please see the following publication: Nolte MT, Shauver MJ, Chung KC. Normative values of the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire for patients with and without hand conditions. Plast Reconstr Surg 2017;140(3):425-433.​

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How do I cite the MHQ?

You can use these two citations below for the MHQ:

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1. Chung KC. Hamill JB. Walters MR. Hayward RA. The Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHQ): assessment of responsiveness to clinical change. Annals of Plastic Surgery. 42(6):619-22, 1999.

2. Chung KC. Pillsbury MS. Walters MR. Hayward RA. Reliability and validity testing of the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire. Journal of Hand Surgery - American Volume. 23(4):575-87, 1998.

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How do I deal with missing responses?

When scoring the MHQ, if 50% or more of the responses in a scale are missing, then that particular scale cannot be scored. For scales with less than 50% missing, the missing responses are replaced with the average value of all complete responses in that scale. Please see "Scoring the MHQ" for detailed instructions. 

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What if I want to ask different demographic questions?

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If you have an old version of the MHQ, it likely has demographic questions at the end. These questions can be altered to meet your needs. You may also add any additional demographic or injury-related questions you require. These questions are not included in any scoring mechanism however.

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Can I use only selected portions of the MHQ?

We recommend that you use the whole survey. Individual questions from the MHQ cannot be scored, and therefore have little value. But, we understand that there are special circumstances in which it is not feasible or appropriate to measure all the scales. In these cases the scales should be kept intact. For example, if an investigator is only interested in the Aesthetics scale, he/she must use all 8 questions (4 for each hand) in the Aesthetics scale for the score to have any meaningful value.

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