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OBJECTIVES: Measuring patient health outcomes is important for effective healthcare. Community-based allied health care provides services for people with complex and often deteriorating conditions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if a single outcome measure was applicable across a multidisciplinary team of eight allied health professions to measure the impact of the team. The chosen measure was the EuroQoL, 5-dimension, 5-level (EQ-5D5L) which we compared to changes in discipline specific functional and quality of life measures. METHODS: Any adult attending community-based services could participate. Both measures were administered at the start of care and repeated 3 months later or at time of discharge. Disciplines and outcome measures included were: psychology (DASS-21); occupational therapy (COPM); social work (ORS); dietetics (Qualcibo); podiatry (wound depth); physiotherapy (6 minute walk test); exercise physiology (QuickDASH); and speech pathology (AusTOMs). RESULTS: Improvements in discipline specific measures were seen in occupational therapy; social work; dietetics; podiatry; and speech pathology (swallow impairment, swallow distress). There was no statistical difference in mean EQ-5D-5L utility score and visual analogue scale. At 3-month follow-up, less participants reported moderate, severe/extreme problems or inability to complete tasks for mobility, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression dimensions but were not significant. IMPLICATIONS: Results suggest the EQ-5D-5L was unresponsive to the improvement demonstrated with discipline-specific measures in a communitybased allied health setting over a 3-month time frame. J Allied Health 2025; 54(1):e41-e48.
MEASURING HEALTH OUTCOMES ensures patients receive, and health professionals deliver, effective healthcare. Health outcome measures fall into several categories including investigative, functional, or quality of life (QoL). QoL outcome measures, specifically patient reported outcome measures (PROMS), measure the patient's perspective of their health status and are gaining increasing attention in research and clinical settings. PROMs measure the change in patient's functioning, performance or participation over time, thereby allowing health practitioners to measure theimpact of service provision or to guide clinical care [1]. PROMs have been used extensively in research to monitor participants in clinical trials [2]. However, the routine use of PROMs is not yet embedded in everyday practice to guide allied health clinical care.
Collecting PROMs in clinical settings could provide feedback to improve service delivery. Allied health professionals within the Adult Community Health Team provide a range of services to community-dwelling patients over the...