Outcome Measures

[Maya King]

Hi! With some practice questions I was given in residency and using the practice tests here, I noticed a couple questions where the scale score for an outcome measure has been provided (along with other info) to make a clinical decision on if a child needed PT services. I think it was the Bayley or DAYC. Are there other outcome measures you suggest studying the specific scores for clinical application?

[Helen Carey]

Be sure to understand the bell curve and where 1SD below the mean falls in relation to both scaled (mean of 10) and standard/composite (mean of 100) scores. Most of our common tests use -1SD below the mean, or scaled score of 7 and standard score of 85, as the cut off for average and below average. The one bit outlier is the PEDI-CAT/PEDI, which uses a T-score (mean of 50) and -2SD below the mean as their threshold for average/below expectations. The AIMS and TIMP also have some nuances in interpretation (some of which I covered in the tests and measures study guide). Be sure to understand concepts of MDC and MCID- you wouldn’t be expected to know a value from the literature, but given a value in a clinical scenario, you should be able to interpret.

[Author]

Posts