Subjective outcome measurement--a primer

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Pharmacy Practice Research
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Growing need for systematic study of patient-focused outcomes in pharmacy practice.
• Traditional research overemphasized structure and process over patient outcomes.
• Vast literature on outcome measurement instruments presents challenges for practitioners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review outcome measures for assessing subjective health status in pharmacy.
• To describe taxonomies for classifying measurement instruments.
• To guide pharmacists in selecting appropriate patient-centered outcome instruments.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of outcome measurement instruments.
• Description of two taxonomies: conceptual content and breadth of coverage.
• Focus on patient-centered instruments and quality criteria.

Main Results:

• Instruments categorized by conceptual content (functional status, health perceptions, quality of life) and coverage (generic, disease-specific, domain-specific, patient-centered).
• Patient-centered instruments represent a shift towards addressing limitations of fixed outcome measures.
• Key quality criteria include validity, reliability, sensitivity to change, practicality, and applicability.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacists require skills to select appropriate outcome measurement instruments.
• Patient-centered instruments offer a valuable approach to assessing subjective health status.
• Systematic selection of quality instruments is crucial for advancing pharmacy outcomes research.