ABSTRACT
Outcome measurement is the cornerstone of evidence-based health care including neuropsychological rehabilitation. A complicating factor for outcome measurement in neuropsychological rehabilitation is the enormous number of measures available and the lack of a standard set of outcome measures. As a first step towards such a set, we reviewed intervention evaluation studies of the last 20 years to get an overview of instruments used for measuring outcome. The instruments were divided into two main categories: neuropsychological tests (International Classification of Functioning (ICF) level of functions) and other instruments (all other ICF domains). We considered the most common cognitive domains: memory, attention, executive functions, neglect, perception, apraxia, language/communication and awareness. Instruments used most for measuring outcome were neuropsychological tests (n = 215) in the domains of working memory, reaction times, neglect and aphasia. In the second category (n = 166) the multi-domain instruments were most represented. Several steps can be taken to select a standard set of outcome measures for future use. Next to evaluation of quality and feasibility of the instruments, expert opinion and consensus procedures can be applied.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.