5. Modes of PRO assessment for clinical application
Paper-pencil-based PRO assessment (2): requirements
Data collection requires infrastructure to print and distribute PROMs and to check returned forms, including:
- staff responsible to hand out/mail forms and check completeness
- equipment/materials (PC to store templates, printer, paper/ink; postage materials if needed)
The kind of processing you choose depends on the local workflow.
A person either
- summarises items into scores/scales and interprets them (best if scoring is simple), or
- interprets item-by-item (best if scoring is complex).
As EORTC PROMs comprise multiple scales that are scored using specific algorithms, the evaluation of individual questions is more straightforward. Calculating scale scores requires considerable effort.
