In article <[log in to unmask]>, Dr Jan Bell
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>I am assisting the British Naturopathic Association in initiating research
>into outcome of naturopathic treatment. The patient spectrum is very wide
> - similar to primary care - and we would like to use some outcome
>measures which are well validated in this setting to measure changes in
>health status, quality of life and well-being. Can anyone advise on the
>most appropriate tools for measurement, useful contacts, or how to access
>up to date versions of the questionnaires?
There is one feature of these things which I feel is too often
overlooked. That is, the ability to summarise the score on a single
scale. Several of the market leaders give you several sub-scales but no
way of combining them, which can make life either mildly inconvenient or
impossible. The Sickness Impact Profile (check in Medline, there's lots
going on) provides a single summary scale. Very handy, I suggest. The
major disadvantage is its length (136 questions), but work has been done
on shorter versions.
Has anyone heard of any examples of things going badly wrong because
sub-scales gave different answers? I've only seen one case, and the
author there solved his problem by ignoring the entire issue and just
adding up all the scale values.
>
>Jan Bell
>
--
Richard Keatinge
homepage http://www.keatinge.demon.co.uk
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