Outcome Measure Recommendations From the Spinal Cord Injury EDGE Task Force

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 OMs^1,3,4; limited clinician knowledge about OMs^3,4; and lack of clinician time, knowledge, and resources to access up-to-date information about OMs.^3,4

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has implemented several initiatives to minimize these barriers and facilitate best practice related to OMs. The Neurology Section developed a regional course addressing OM use in people with neurologic diagnoses titled “Neurologic Practice Essentials: A Functional Toolbox,” which has now been modified and transitioned to an online format. The Section on Research developed the Evaluation Database to Guide Effectiveness (EDGE) Task Force in 2006 to advance best practice for use of OMs.⁵ The Neurology Section, in coordination with the EDGE Task Force, has organized task forces to make recommendations on the use of OMs in neurologic populations. Individuals can use these recommendations to more effectively and objectively develop a plan of care and report patient progress, as well as strengthen their clinical reasoning to continually improve patient care. To date, EDGE recommendations regarding OMs are available for the following patient populations: stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury, Parkinson disease, and vestibular disorders. The EDGE task forces are disseminating their summaries of evidence and …