TY - JOUR

T1 - What is a PROM and why do we need it?

T2 - Article 1 in a series of 10

AU - Krogsgaard, Michael R.

AU - Brodersen, John

AU - Christensen, Karl Bang

AU - Siersma, Volkert

AU - Kreiner, Svend

AU - Jensen, Jonas

AU - Hansen, Christian Fugl

AU - Comins, Jonathan D.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - The purpose of this article was to introduce the reader to the nature of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and pitfalls in their use. PROMs collect subjective information directly from the patient regarding specific or general conditions and add to clinical and functional outcomes, and turn unmeasurable subjective qualities into quantitative measures. PROMs are questionnaires consisting of items: questions or statements with predefined response options. The items in an adequate PROM have been developed by involvement of patients with the condition in focus, and the PROM has been validated for these patients using suitable statistical methods. An adequate well-targeted PROM is more responsive than an inadequate PROM. Unfortunately, many studies use inadequate PROMs as outcomes. The methods used to generate PROMs should be described as thoroughly as those used to develop any other types of measurement instruments, and the choice of PROM should always be explained and thereby justified. If the PROM used is not adequate, the consequences for the interpretation of the results should be discussed. In many cases, an adequate PROM does not exist. If the best available PROM is chosen, there are methods to validate the adequacy of the chosen PROM, which make an interpretation of the study results possible.

AB - The purpose of this article was to introduce the reader to the nature of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and pitfalls in their use. PROMs collect subjective information directly from the patient regarding specific or general conditions and add to clinical and functional outcomes, and turn unmeasurable subjective qualities into quantitative measures. PROMs are questionnaires consisting of items: questions or statements with predefined response options. The items in an adequate PROM have been developed by involvement of patients with the condition in focus, and the PROM has been validated for these patients using suitable statistical methods. An adequate well-targeted PROM is more responsive than an inadequate PROM. Unfortunately, many studies use inadequate PROMs as outcomes. The methods used to generate PROMs should be described as thoroughly as those used to develop any other types of measurement instruments, and the choice of PROM should always be explained and thereby justified. If the PROM used is not adequate, the consequences for the interpretation of the results should be discussed. In many cases, an adequate PROM does not exist. If the best available PROM is chosen, there are methods to validate the adequacy of the chosen PROM, which make an interpretation of the study results possible.

KW - development

KW - interpretation

KW - patient-reported outcome measures

KW - validity

U2 - 10.1111/sms.13892

DO - 10.1111/sms.13892

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33249660

AN - SCOPUS:85097984463

VL - 31

SP - 967

EP - 971

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

SN - 0905-7188

IS - 5

ER -