Manifesto: Towards a clinically-oriented psychometrics Journal Article

   


Authors: Vickers, A. J.; Chen, L. Y.
Article Title: Manifesto: Towards a clinically-oriented psychometrics
Abstract: Background: New technologies to collect patient - reported outcomes have substantially solved the challenge of integrating a questionnaire in a busy clinical practice. At Memorial Sloan Kettering, we have been collecting patient reported outcomes electronically for many years. Our experience confirms the predicted benefits of obtaining patient reported outcomes but has also raised serious concerns about whether instruments developed for the research setting are appropriate for routine clinical use. Discussion: We summarize four principles for a clinically - relevant psychometrics. First, minimize patient burden: the use of a large number of items for a single domain may be of interest for research but additional items have little clinical utility. Secondly, use simplified language: patients who do not have good language skills are typically excluded from research studies but will nonetheless present in clinical practice. Third, avoid dumb questions: many questionnaire items are inappropriate when applied to a more general population. Fourth, what works for the group may not work for the individual: group level statistics used to validate survey instruments can obscure problems when applied to a subgroup of patients. Conclusion: There is a need for a clinically-oriented psychometrics to help design, test, and evaluate questionnaires that would be used in routine practice. Developing statistical methods to optimize questionnaires will be highly challenging but needed to bring the potential of patient reported outcomes into widespread clinical use. © 2017 The Author(s).
Keywords: case report; clinical practice; statistics; questionnaire; statistical analysis; population; language; skill; psychometry; patient-reported outcome; instrument validation; human
Journal Title: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
Volume: 15
Issue: 1
ISSN: 1477-7525
Publisher: Biomed Central Ltd  
Date Published: 2017-04-26
Start Page: 83
Language: English
DOI: 10.1186/s12955-017-0655-3
PROVIDER: scopus
PUBMED: 28446213
PMCID: PMC5406935
DOI/URL:

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85018313890&doi=10.1186%2fs12955-017-0655-3&partnerID=40&md5=2727bdcfae56b6802c670e913efa7dc0
Notes: Erratum issued, see DOI: 10.1186/s12955-017-0684-y -- Note -- Export Date: 2 June 2017 -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Andrew J Vickers
    880 Vickers
  2. Ling Yun Chen
    23 Chen
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