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Parkinson's Impact Scale (PIMS)
Availability
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Parkinson's Impact Scale.
Classification
Supplemental: Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Short Description of Instrument
The Parkinson's Impact Scale (PIMS) is a 10 item scale that measures the impact of Parkinson's disease on everyday life. This disease specific, quality of life measure can be completed by the subject or by an interviewer and is intended for patients but has been validated for caregivers as well.
 
The PIMS has four domains: physical aspects of disease (5 items), psychological aspects (2 items), social aspects (2 items) and sexuality (2 items).
Scoring and Psychometric Properties
Scoring: Each item is scored on a scale of 0-4 with 4 indicating the most severe impact and 0 indicating no change.
 
Psychometric Properties: The internal consistency, a Total scale= 0.9011 and the intraclass correlation, ICC= 0.7211.
Rationale/Justification
Strengths: a) inclusion of rating disease impact during both on and off periods (for motor fluctuators) and b) inclusion of optional items for rating of sexuality and financial security.
 
Weaknesses: a) the scale developers recommend that patients be advised if they are stable or fluctuating, since some patients are not aware of with this, and b) the sexuality and financial security items are optional and left unanswered in 32% and 13% of questionnaires, respectively.
References
Key References:
Calne S, Schulzer M, Mak E, Guyette C, Rohs G, Hatchard S, Murphy D, Hodder J, Gagnon C, Weatherby S, Beaudet L, Duff J, Pegler S. Validating a quality of life rating scale for idiopathic parkinsonism: Parkinson's Impact Scale (PIMS). Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 1996 Apr;2(2):55-61. Erratum: Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 1996;2(4):237.
 
Schulzer M, Mak E, Calne SM. The psychometric properties of the Parkinson's Impact Scale (PIMS) as a measure of quality of life in Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2003 Jun;9(5):291-4.
 
Additional References:
Calne SM, Mak E, Hall J, Fortin MJ, King P, McInnes G, Grantier L, Trecartin S, Schulzer M. Validating a quality-of-life scale in caregivers of patients with Parkinson's disease: Parkinson's Impact Scale (PIMS). Adv Neurol. 2003;91:115-22.
 
Serrano-Duenas M, Serrano S. Psychometric characteristics of PIMS--compared to PDQ-39 and PDQL--to evaluate quality of life in Parkinson's disease patients: validation in Spanish (Ecuadorian style). Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2008;14(2):126-32.
 
Suchowersky O, Bailey P, Pourcher E, Bulger L, Facciponte G. Comparison of two dosages of tolcapone added to levodopa in nonfluctuating patients with PD. Clin Neuropharmacol. 2001 Jul-Aug;24(4):214-20.
 
Document last updated August 2022