Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) can be used to evaluate important aspects of health that may be improved by a lower limb orthosis. Existing PROMs have been used to measure the effects of orthoses but have limitations like a broad population focus, scores that are difficult to interpret, and less relevant content. To address these issues, our interdisciplinary research team developed the Orthotic Patient-Reported Outcomes – Mobility (OPRO-M), a new PROM designed to measure mobility of lower limb orthosis users. The development process involved a review of existing items, focus groups, item generation and selection, and cognitive interviews. A pool of candidate items was administered to more than 1,000 lower limb orthosis users in the United States. Survey responses were used to calibrate the instrument using item response theory methods and establish initial evidence of validity for the item bank. Both 12- and 20-item short forms, and a computerized adaptive test (CAT) were created to facilitate administration in clinical care and research studies. A repeated measures study was then conducted to evaluate the validity and reliability of the OPRO-M short forms and CAT. Collectively, these studies resulted in a PROM that is easy to administer and interpret, psychometrically robust, and targeted to activities of importance to lower limb orthosis users. In this symposium, presenters will share their motivations for developing OPRO-M, describe an overview of its development, summarize evidence of its reliability and validity, and demonstrate how it can be integrated into routine clinical practice and used to advance orthotic care.
Statement of the objective / learning objectives
The goals of this symposium are to familiarize clinicians and researchers with OPRO-M, describe its development and psychometric testing, share how it is being implemented clinically, and offer suggestions for its use in the future.
