HealthMeasures

Overview

HealthMeasures is an online resource that provides access to four person-centered measurement systems developed and validated with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored the development and validation of four comprehensive measurement systems:

• NIH Toolbox for Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function^®: Stand-alone performance and self/parent report measures and domain level batteries measuring cognitive, motor, sensory, and emotional functioning from ages 3-85.
• PROMIS: Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System^®: Self and proxy reports of multiple domains of physical, mental and social health for children ages 5-17 and adults of all ages.
• Neuro-QoL: The Neurology Quality of Life Measurement System: PROMIS-compatible self-report measures of health domains relevant across neurological conditions for children ages 8-17 and adults of all ages.
• ASCQ-Me: Adult Sickle Cell Quality of Life Measurement System^SM: PROMIS-compatible self-report measures of health domains relevant to adults with sickle cell disease.

Background

The HealthMeasures resource provides state-of-the-science assessment of physical, mental, and social health, as well as performance measures of cognition, motor and sensory function, for use across a range of chronic diseases as well as the general population. These measures provide clinicians, researchers, healthcare administrators and policy-makers with efficient, precise, valid and responsive measures of symptoms, functional abilities and general health perceptions surrounding life quality and satisfaction.

Access & Availability

To access HealthMeasures, visit www.healthmeasures.net. The HealthMeasures site includes introductory slides and/or demonstration videos for all available measures along with information on assessment delivery systems that include the measures.

All HealthMeasures content for self-reported measures, including questions, scoring information, and interpretation guides, is publicly available free of charge. In order to sustain the HealthMeasures resource, Northwestern University has developed a cost-recovery structure for certain applications and consulting services. More information is available on the HealthMeasures Web site.

Although the measures in the HealthMeasures resource were developed and initially validated in English and Spanish within the US, they are increasingly being used around the world. Some measures have been translated into more than 40 languages and are being deployed in over 50 different countries.

Funding

HealthMeasures was funded as a 5-year trans-NIH cooperative agreement grant (U2C CA186878), which was awarded in August 2014 to Northwestern University and includes five performance sites (University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at San Diego, University of North Carolina, University of Pittsburgh, and American Institutes of Research). This trans-NIH initiative is led by NCI and supported by the following 13 NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices:

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
• National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
• National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
• Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
• Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)
• National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR)