We conduct basic, applied and translational research into the uses of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs). Translational research aims at increasing the scale and speed of progress from scientific discovery to clinical benefit (from a market perspective, turning early-stage innovations into new health products), and our research in PROMs specifically aims at bridging the gap between our developments in methods for the measurement of patient reported outcomes and patient centred safety assessments and its routine implementation in clinical practice.  Our research on the development of a classification system for PROMs, a new tool for assessing the quality of these instruments (EMPRO), and our contribution to the development of on-line PROMs libraries are all aimed at facilitating uptake of PROMs in clinical practice.

We are currently conducting translational research on a model of care based on the routine use of PROMs in primary care. This NIHR funded programme (2011-2016) aims at designing an administration and feed-back system, establishing its clinical benefit and costs, and subsequently evaluate its implementation in a randomized controlled trial. This work is also part of the contribution of the group to the Quality and Outcomes Policy Research Unit. In a related project, we want to establish the applicability of the PROMIS measurement systems (recently developed in the United States under an NIH funded programme with the combined effort of 12 primary research sites) for routine PROMs measurement in the United Kingdom and other European countries.

Other projects and collaborations in this area include a pilot on the postal administration of PROMs in Primary Care, led by Prof. Fitzpatrick, and a research project on the attribution of PROMs to the effects of different providers, lead by Prof. Matt Sutton, University of Manchester.

Selected publications

Using health status to measure NHS performance.  Another step into the dark for the health reform in England. Valderas JM, Fitzpatrick R, Roland M.  Qual Safety Health Care 2011, in press

Measuring patient-reported outcomes: moving from clinical trials into clinical practice. Valderas JM, Alonso J, Guyatt GH. Med J Aust. 2008 Jul 21;189(2):93-4.

The impact of measuring patient-reported outcomes in clinical practice: a systematic review of the literature. Valderas JM, Kotzeva A, Espallargues M, Guyatt G, Ferrans CE, Halyard MY, Revicki DA, Symonds T, Parada A, Alonso J. Qual Life Res. 2008 Mar;17(2):179-93.

Patient reported outcome measures: a model-based classification system for research and clinical practice. Valderas JM, Alonso J. Qual Life Res. 2008 Nov;17(9):1125-35.