PRO-Angoff method for remote standard setting: establishing clinical thresholds for the upper digestive disease tool

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Health Outcomes Research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Upper Digestive Disease (UDD) Tool™ assesses symptom frequency, intensity, and interference across nine domains, plus physical and mental health via PROMIS domains.
• Current symptom domains require updated cut scores for precise interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

• Establish cut scores for updated symptom domains of the UDD Tool™.
• Evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of virtual standard setting for this process.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the extended Angoff method with subject matter experts.
• Refined performance descriptions and categorized symptom control into good, moderate, and poor.
• Calculated cut scores based on average borderline patient scores per item.

Main Results:

• Established two cut scores per domain: good/moderate (mean 28.6) and moderate/poor (mean 54.5).
• Panelists confirmed the importance of symptom timing, patient populations, and item content for score interpretation.

Conclusions:

• Virtual standard setting was deemed effective and acceptable, yielding valid cut scores.
• Further validation with patient perspectives and exploration of dashboard display preferences are recommended.