Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026
Assessment and Communication for People with Disorders of Consciousness
Published on: August 1, 2017
Tailoring the Recovery Ruler: A Data Visualization Tool for Disorders of Consciousness Rehabilitation Programs
Patricia Grady-Dominguez1, Lauren Teague1, Alison McGuire2
1Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Health and Human Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
Objective:
To describe the process and results of tailoring the Recovery Ruler, a novel data visualization tool for patients in disorders of consciousness at 4 postacute rehabilitation programs.
Design:
Descriptive, participatory, qualitative approach. We conducted iterative design sessions (DSs) with rehabilitation practitioners to tailor the Recovery Ruler for postacute care workflows.
Setting:
Four postacute rehabilitation programs.
Participants:
Sixteen rehabilitation practitioners.
Intervention:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measure:
Transcripts from DSs, research team notes, and correspondences to describe the process of tailoring the Recovery Ruler.
Results:
Practitioners identified 3 core functions of the Recovery Ruler: (1) communicating Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) results to family care partners; (2) guiding interpretation of CRS-R scores; and (3) providing context for CRS-R results. Revisions to the tool aligned with these functions, including emphasizing the 0-100 equal-interval scale for clarity, replacing solid lines with dashed lines to represent score ranges, and adding fields for clinical notes and test completion codes. Practitioners perceived that tailoring the Recovery Ruler enhanced comprehensibility, efficiency, and alignment with program workflows.
Conclusions:
The Recovery Ruler was tailored to meet the diverse needs of 4 postacute disorders of consciousness programs, emphasizing person-centered principles of transparency, comprehensibility, and perceptions of holistic communication. Practitioners' input guided revisions to enhance family communication, facilitate CRS-R interpretation, and contextualize patient data, while maintaining adaptability to varied clinical workflows. Future research should focus on extended usability testing and tailored implementation strategies to optimize integration into practice.
