Evidence in Practice 24 – Prognosis & Prediction

Researchers conduct prognosis and prediction studies to measure the course of symptoms for various conditions over time and try to identify which patients will do better or worse. Although this type of research is common in the musculoskeletal field, there are few available tools that reliably predict outcome. This is because developing and testing a prediction tool requires a multi-stage process that is rarely carried out, and prediction studies frequently contain critical errors in methods and interpretation.