Determination of the conceptual structures of the disturbed activities of daily living due to Katakori by evaluating patients’ values or perceptions using a patient-elicitation technique

[Purpose] To investigate the disturbed activities of daily living due to Katakori, a nonspecific symptom that includes discomfort or dull pain around the occiput through the cervical spine to the acromion and scapular area, by assessment of patients’ values or perceptions. [Participants and Methods] Fifty participants with consistent Katakori during the last month were included. We used the patient-elicitation technique, in which the participants were asked to rate the 1) magnitude of disturbance to the elicited activities on an 8-point scale (0–7), and 2) the importance of each activity on an 11-point scale (0–10) in a semistructured interview. A score for each activity was calculated by multiplying the magnitude of the disturbance by its importance, and the score ranged from 0 to 70. [Results] Among the 186 disturbed activities evaluated in the patient-elicitation technique, 24 coding categories of disturbed activities were identified. The two most prevalent disturbed activities were using a personal computer (62%), and using a mobile phone or a tablet (52%). Taking care of children had the highest mean patient-elicitation technique score (66.5). [Conclusion] This study identified 24 conceptual structures of disturbed activities of daily living due to Katakori, which will serve as the foundation for future development of a patient-reported outcome measure for the disability caused by Katakori.