A team of researchers conducted an observational, prospective, psychometric validation study of the Orthotic Patient-Reported Outcomes-Mobility (OPRO-M) 12- and 20-item short forms to evaluate the validity and test-retest reliability. According to the authors, the results indicated that the instruments are promising, population-specific alternatives to generic surveys with psychometric performance comparable to or better than established self-report instruments.
Lower-limb orthosis users were recruited from orthotic clinics across the United States and given four self-report instruments (OPRO-M; Orthotic and Prosthetic Users Survey-Lower Extremity Functional Status; Lower Extremity Functional Scale; and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Physical Function) and three performance-based instruments (Ten-Meter Walk Test; Timed Up and Go Test; and Two-Minute Walk Test) during an in-person assessment. The self-report instruments were readministered via an online survey sent to participants seven days later. A total of 104 lower-limb orthosis users (51 percent male, mean age 53 years) completed both assessments.
OPRO-M short form scores correlated strongly with those from self-report and performance-based instruments and effectively differentiated all mobility groups except household and limited community ambulators and showed excellent test-retest reliability and low measurement error.
The results provided sound evidence of the OPRO-M short forms’ validity and reliability when used to measure mobility in lower-limb orthosis users, the study said.
The open-access study, “Evaluating the construct validity and test-retest reliability of the Orthotic Patient-Reported Outcomes–Mobility (OPRO-M) short forms in lower limb orthosis users,” was published in PLOS One.
