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Abstract #149072

Raheleh Khorsan, MA, Clinical Research Program and Integrative Medicine, Samueli Institute, 2101 East Coast Hwy, Suite 300, Corona del Mar, CA 92625-1941, 949-760-4419, rkhorsan@siib.org, Ian Coulter, PhD, Chair of Integrative Medicine, RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407, Cheryl Hawk, DC, PhD, Research, Cleveland College of Chiropractic, 6401 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64131, and Christine Goertz Choate, DC, PhD, Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, Palmer College of Chiropractic, 741 Brady Street, Davenport, IA 52803.

Outcome assessment can support the therapeutic process by providing a way to track symptoms and functionality over time, providing insights to clinicians and patients, as well as offering a common language to discuss patient behavior/functioning. The integration of such measures not only informs therapy, but can also inform programmatic decisions as well as further the field of chiropractic health care research. Outcome measures therefore are both a research tool and an aid to patient care. In this paper we examine the measures that have been used to measure outcomes in chiropractic and suggest those measures that are feasible, practical, economical, reliable, valid and responsive to clinical change. Such an assessment however requires that we know both the purpose of the instrument and the theories that underlie it. The paper also examines the nature of these theories and reviews the current measures.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the theoretical process in which health outcome measures are created.
• Evaluate the health outcome measures used in current chiropractic clinical research.
• Recognize the vital need for reliable and valid health assessment tools to determine which procedures and practices work best for chiropractic patients.

Keywords: Outcome Measures, Chiropractic

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.