Outcome Measure Recommendations From the Spinal Cord Injury EDGE Task Force

Abstract

Best practice in the use of outcome measures (OMs) is critical to the field of rehabilitation. Standardized and effective OM use allows evaluation of which interventions are effective and helps clinicians objectively evaluate patient progress.1 Although the use of standardized OMs has increased,1,2 barriers continue to limit their implementation in practice,1,3,4 with more than 50% of physical therapists in one study reporting that they do not regularly use standardized OMs.1 Barriers to clinicians' OM use include: limited time to complete and analyze OMs1,3,4; limited clinician knowledge about OMs3,4; and lack of clinician time, knowledge, and resource s to access up-to-date information about OMs.3,4