Assessment of function in routine clinical practice: Description of the coop chart method and preliminary findings

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9681(87)80033-4Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open archive

Abstract

The COOP Project, a primary care research network, has begun development of a Chart method to screen function quickly. The COOP Charts, analogous to Snellen Charts, were pretested in two practices on adult patients (N = 117) to test feasibility, clinical utility, and validity. Patients completed questionnaires containing validated health status scales and sociodemographic variables. Practice staff filled out forms indicating COOP Chart scores and clinical data. We held debriefing interviews with staff who administered the Charts, The results indicate the Charts take 1–2 minutes to administer, are easy to use, and produce important clinical data. The patterns of correlations between the Charts and validity indicator variables provide evidence for both convergent and discriminant validity. We conclude that new measures are needed to assess function in a busy office practice and that the COOP Chart system represents one promising strategy.

Health status measurement
Ambulatory care
Functional health
Physical health
Mental health
Validity

Cited by (0)

a

Drs Nelson and Wasson are Associate Professors of Community Medicine

b

Dr Kirk is Assistant Professor of Clinical Community and Family Medicine

c

Mr Keller is an Instructor in Community and Family Medicine.

d

Dr Clark is Adjunct Assistant Professor

e

Dr Dietrich Assistant Professor of Community and Family Medicine.

f

Dr Stewart is a Senior Analyst at The RAND Corporation

g

Dr Zubkoff is Professor of Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, and Professor of Health Economics at Amos Tuck School of Business Administration.