Systematic review of the psychometric properties of quality-of-life outcome measures used with adult inpatient psychiatric populations

To systematically review available quality of life (QoL) measures used in adult psychiatric inpatient settings following the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) method. Systematic searches across four databases were conducted following a pre-registered review protocol: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, and CINAHL. Forward and backwards citation searches were also conducted. Psychometric properties (content validity, structural validity, internal consistency, cross-cultural validity, test-retest reliability, measurement error, criterion validity, construct validity, and responsiveness) were assessed against the COSMIN criteria. A narrative synthesis was employed to integrate the results. The GRADE approach was used to assess overall certainty of the evidence. Reliable change indices (RCI) were calculated for QoL measures where sufficient data were available. Twenty-two QoL measures were included in the review, from 38 studies. Most measures had evidence of good structural validity and internal consistency in this clinical population. However, no outcome measure covered all measurement properties defined by COSMIN and a limited number covered content validity. Overall, a small subset of QoL measures demonstrated adequate performance across multiple psychometric properties, including: S-QOL-41, ReQoL, SF-36, and MHQOL. 1. Why is this study needed? Patient-reported outcome measures allow clinicians and patients to monitor change over time and to identify areas that the patient might want to focus on. QoL measures can provide a person-centred view of recovery including domains other than symptom reduction. 2. What is the key problem/issue/question this manuscript addresses? To date, little is known about the psychometric validity and reliability of QoL measures applied in psychiatric inpatient care settings. 3. What is the main point of your study? To our knowledge, there are currently no reviews that summarise the psychometric properties of all available QoL outcome measures in inpatient psychiatric settings. This review provides a comprehensive overview of available measures, highlighting their strengths and limitations. 4. What are your main results, and what do they mean? There is currently no QoL outcome measure which covers all psychometric properties as defined by COSMIN guidelines for the inpatient psychiatric population.However, several of the reviewed outcome measures showed promising evidence.