Choosing Outcome Measures

OT Dude Academy’s Free NBCOT® Exam Prep Course Assessments Introduction Choosing Outcome Measures

Many national and international standards require a standardized outcome measure to be used in practice.1 2  The following can help guide the selection of assessments for the client and external stakeholders:3 

  • Can the assessment help the clinician see the effect of treatment?
    • Can it provide results?
    • Is it clinically effective?
    • Can it monitor and review progress objectively?
    • Can this measure be used to motivate the client?
  • Can the measure provide information to a third party (interdisciplinary team, insurance company)
  • Does this have a purpose (aim) for occupational therapy?
  • Does this measure change (responsiveness or sensitivity)?
  • Are there other different types of measures that may be better?
  • Is it published?
  • Is it standardized?
  • Does it have clear scoring instructions?
  • Cultural Relevance and Sensitivity: Ensure the measure is appropriate and relevant to the client’s cultural background and context.
  • Client-Centeredness: Align the measure with the client’s personal goals, preferences, and values.
  • Feasibility: Assess the practicality of the measure in terms of time, cost, and resources required.
  • Training Requirements: Consider the level of training and expertise required to administer the measure accurately.
  • Ease of Administration: Ensure the measure is straightforward and easy to administer with clear instructions.
  • Burden on the Client: Evaluate the measure for the burden it places on the client in terms of time, effort, and potential stress.
  • Reliability: Ensure the measure has demonstrated reliability, producing consistent results over repeated administrations.
  • Validity: Confirm the measure has been validated for the specific population and purpose.
  • Normative Data: Check if normative data is available for the measure for broader population comparison.
  • Ethical Considerations: Consider ethical implications such as informed consent, confidentiality, and the right to withdraw.
  • Integration with Electronic Health Records (EHR): Evaluate whether the measure can be easily integrated into EHR systems.
  • Inter-rater Reliability: Ensure the measure produces consistent results when administered by different clinicians.
  • Sensitivity to Change: The measure should be sensitive enough to detect small but clinically significant changes.
  • Comprehensiveness: The measure should provide a holistic view of the client’s condition, considering all relevant aspects.
  • Client Engagement: The measure should actively engage the client in the assessment process, promoting self-reflection and awareness of their progress.
  1. CPT: Draft position statement – physical therapy record keeping, storage and retrieval, 2009, World Confederation for Physical Therapy. Online. Available: www.wcpt.org/ node/29436. Accessed June 19, 2009.[↩]
  2. ER-WCPT: European core standards of physiotherapy practice, 2002, European Region of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy Online. Available: www.physio- europe.org/index.php?action=19. Accessed June 19, 2009.[↩]
  3. Greenhalgh J, Long AF, Brettle AJ, et al: Reviewing and selecting outcome measures for use in routine practice, J Eval Clin Pract 4(4):339–350, 1998.[↩]
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