Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Aphasia

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) for persons with aphasia offer a new method of obtaining subjective reports of social and psychological wellbeing subsequent to stroke and/or aphasia. Several instruments designed to elicit self-report in stroke patients, including those who have aphasia, have adopted aphasia-friendly formats and have included persons with all levels of severity in the development of the instrument. A brief overview of currently available tools is provided with comments regarding the primary focus of the tools and some of the reported psychometric properties. In addition, this article includes a discussion of the rationale and forces that are driving the development and use of these tools, including systematic health-care changes and an increased prominence of the social approach to aphasia. Also, the author discusses an overview of the current and future application of PROs.