Elsevier

Nursing Outlook

Volume 62, Issue 5, September–October 2014, Pages 332-338
Nursing Outlook

Article
Special Issue: The Science of Symptom Management: Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science, 2013 Conference
An experience with the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System: Pros and cons and unanswered questions

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2014.06.009Get rights and content

Abstract

The goal of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) is to create efficient, reliable, and valid assessments of adult and child health. The nursing science literature in which PROMIS measures are used is rapidly expanding. Investigators have been encouraged to consider the integration of PROMIS measures into both descriptive studies and clinical trials. Doing this has created opportunities and challenges for investigators. This article highlights three projects to show the perspectives of nurse scientists who incorporated PROMIS measures into their research. The first project describes advantages of PROMIS to allow for comparisons of a study population with a national sample and to compliment legacy measures. The second project examines issues in the translation of tools for region-specific Hispanic populations. The third project provides a perspective on the use of PROMIS measures to capture cancer-related fatigue and to develop new components of a sexual function scale. As indicated by these three examples, nurse scientists can contribute an important role in moving the PROMIS initiative forward. Results from these types of projects also move symptom science forward within a more interdisciplinary approach to common measures of interest.

Section snippets

Background

This article provides information shared at the October 2013 Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science Conference Innovative Approaches to Symptom Science: Measurement and Analysis. The authors of this article are investigators who incorporated either one or more Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) tools into their National Institutes of Health–funded research projects. Abstracts of these studies are presented in Table 1, Table 2.

PROMIS Advantages

The use of the PROMIS measures by biobehavioral nursing scientists who are focused on understanding the biological underpinnings of symptom reports provides several advantages. A key advantage is the ability to compare symptoms reported by one's sample to a national data base (one of the intended purposes of the PROMIS development). Project 1, “The Pathways to Abdominal Pain,” provides an example of this advantage (Table 1).

PROMIS Challenges

In Project 2, the nurse scientist was involved in testing the effectiveness of two culturally sensitive, expedient psychosocial interventions to improve QOL for Latinas with breast cancer and their supportive partners. Although Spanish language versions of PROMIS measures are available and widely used, there are challenges for nurse scientists to consider. This challenge is highlighted in Project 2.

Summary

As nursing scientists, the authors concur that it is important to support moving the PROMIS initiative forward. The notion of having a common currency regarding symptoms and symptom impact on QOL is laudable, but more work still needs to be done. For most investigators, the use of PROMIS measures will be done in concert with the continued use of more familiar legacy tools and the incorporation of selected relevant short forms or composite tools. Among nursing scientists, there are aspirations

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