Issues in participation measurement in research and clinical applications

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This article summarizes discussions and recommendations made by participants at the International Symposium on Measurement of Participation in Rehabilitation Research. Participants spent many hours over 2 days in small group breakout sessions and large group discussion identifying and describing conceptual and psychometric issues related to participation measurement. Breakout groups discussion questions focused on several key issues: What do we know about defining and measuring participation? What don’t we know? What are the research barriers to defining and measuring participation? What are the research priorities to resolve these obstacles and develop better instruments? What are the organizations and opportunities to continue the work of this symposium? What are the major aspects of participation that should be measured? With what kinds of participation constructs do item response theory methods and clinimetric and other psychometric approaches fit? Do people form “types” of “participants” that can be categorized? Which person characteristics should be considered when evaluating differential item functioning? What cultural and physical features should be considered in measuring participation? What legacy measures could be used as an item pool to tap “participation?” Can a crosswalk unite “legacy” participation measures? Reporters summarized the subgroups’ discussions, and then the larger group focused on shared concerns.

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