Patient-reported outcome II: selecting appropriate measures for musculoskeletal care

Abstract

The first article in this series outlined the important contribution that well developed patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) can make to healthcare, clinical decision making and evaluation. The increasing focus on patient reported health means that there are now hundreds of questionnaires available; selecting the appropriate measure is both challenging and essential. This article will introduce potential users of PROMs to key information to consider when selecting and using PROMs in research, routine practice or quality assurance. Important concepts, such as measurement reliability, validity and responsiveness to important change in health, will be explored and illustrated with examples from musculoskeletal healthcare. Practical properties, such as acceptability and feasibility, will also be introduced.