Measurement Equivalence of PRO Scales Across Different Modalities

This study evaluates the equivalence of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) collected using different devices: paper, the subject's own mobile device (BYOD), and a provisioned site device.

Focusing on chronic health conditions causing daily pain or discomfort, the study finds high correlation between all methods of data collection, supporting BYOD as a viable, convenient option for clinical trials. Our research demonstrates that patients can reliably complete PRO measures on their own smartphones and tablets with the same accuracy as paper forms or provisioned devices.

With 94% of patients willing to download a clinical trial app and 45% preferring BYOD over provisioned devices, this approach significantly enhances participant convenience while maintaining data integrity. Our study proves that visual analog scales, numeric rating scales, verbal response scales, and Likert scales all maintain high equivalence regardless of device type or screen size.

This article was originally published in Value in Health (2018) by researchers from ICON Clinical Research, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and Clinical Ink.