Claudine Auger, Université de Montréal

Making sense of pragmatic criteria for the selection of geriatric rehabilitation measurement tools

In geriatric rehabilitation, the selection of the most appropriate measurement tools involves pragmatic as well as psychometric considerations. However, there is no consensus about the conceptual and operational definitions of the pragmatic criteria involved in this selection. Ms. Claudine Auger believed that the appraisal of the pragmatic aspects of measurement tools (e.g. applicability, practicality) could assist clinicians and researchers in selecting the most appropriate for use with an older population.

With this issue in mind, Ms. Auger pursued, as part of her Master's training, a literature search to identify operational criteria. In her research she systematically identified the various pragmatic criteria important to measurement tool appraisal in the field of geriatric rehabilitation based on a literature review, using a conceptual mapping methodology. The research team then proposed to regroup the pragmatic criteria under the umbrella term "applicability", provided a definition of applicability as well as a hierarchical grouping of applicability criteria to guide clinicians and researchers in measurement tool selection.

This work laid the conceptual foundation for a study on the Applicability of a toolkit for geriatric rehabilitation outcomes which was published in the Disability and Rehabilitation journal, February 2007. The study was also presented at national (Canadian Association on Gerontology, Victoria) and international conferences (International Association on Gerontology, Rio de Janeiro).

Ms. Auger's research interests are related to the measurement of geriatric rehabilitation outcomes and she is currently completing the second year of her PhD. Her thesis concerns the characterization and the prediction of optimal impacts of powered wheelchair use in older adults.