Patient reported outcome measures for visual impairment after stroke: a systematic review

PURPOSE: The aim of this review was to identify patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) for use in research and clinical practice involving individuals with visual impairment following stroke and to evaluate their content validity against quality assessment criteria. METHOD: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify articles related to the development and/or validation of PROMS. We searched scholarly online resources and hand searched journals. Search terms included MESH terms and alternatives relating to PROMs, visual impairments and quality of life. Data were extracted relating to the development and validation of the included instruments. The quality of the development process was assessed using a modified version of a PROM quality assessment tool. RESULTS: A total of 142 PROMs were identified, 34 vision-specific PROMs were relevant and available to be analysed in this review. Quality appraisal identified four highly rated instruments: the National Eye Institute Visual Functional Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ), Activity Inventory (AI), Daily Living Tasks Dependant on Vision (DLTV) and Veterans Affairs Low Visual Function Questionnaire (VA LV VFQ). The four instruments have only been used with either a limited number of stroke survivors or a sub-population within visual impairment following stroke. CONCLUSION: No instruments were identified which specifically targeted individuals with visual impairment following stroke. Further research is required to identify the items which a population of stroke survivors with visual impairment consider to be of most importance. The validation of a combination of instruments or a new instrument for use with this population is required. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12955-015-0338-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.