A Compendium of Tests, Scales, and Questionnaires: The Practitioner's Guide to Measuring Outcomes After Acquired Brain Impairment. Robyn Tate. London, UK: Psychology Press, 2005. 768 pages, $200, hardcover: ISBN: 9781841695617.
With a foreword by Muriel Lezak, who for almost 2 decades has provided clinicians and clinical researchers with an invaluable reference source of neuropsychological assessment tools, the compendium of tests, scales, and questionnaires promises to be a similarly useful guide for the selection of outcome measures across several domains of functioning. The objective of the compendium is to describe a range of tests, scales, and questionnaires that could be administered as outcome measures when working with people with acquired brain injury.
The compendium was authored by Dr Robyn Tate, who, for those familiar with the traumatic brain injury literature, requires very little introduction. Dr Tate is a professor in the Rehabilitation Studies Unit, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Australia. She is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist by training and has more than 30 years of clinical experience in brain injury rehabilitation. With an impressive record of publications on assessment, treatment, and methodology, Dr Tate is well-qualified to be carrying forth this endeavor.
The compendium follows the organization of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) by using ICF domains (body functions, activities/participation, and environmental factors) to the extent possible to classify the instruments. The first chapter provides the background and methodology for the selection of the instruments, a description of the ICF, and discussion of the challenges that emerged by attempting to place the content of the book along the ICF dimensions. The remaining chapters are organized into 4 areas (individual chapter titles in parentheses): body function (consciousness and orientation; general cognitive functions; specific cognitive functions; regulation of behavior; thoughts and emotion; sensory, ingestion, and motor functions), activity and participation (activities of daily living; participation and social role), environmental factors, and multidimensional scales. Each chapter begins with an introduction about the specific areas of functioning addressed along with an overview of the instruments presented within. A figure illustrating the ICF structure and the correspondence between ICF domains/categories and the compendium individual chapters is included with each chapter's introduction, providing a useful visual index showing the association between instruments and ICF domains. Some chapters are further subdivided into sections by specific domain of functioning (eg, scales measuring coma, vegetative and minimally conscious states; scales assessing language functions).
Each section or chapter contains entries of instruments relevant to the specific domain, in alphabetical order. The structure of the instrument entries is uniform throughout the compendium, making it easy to remember and flip through the pages to find the required information. Each instrument entry includes a description of the source and purpose of the scale, item description and scale development, administration and scoring procedures, and psychometric properties. In most cases, a copy of the instrument is provided as well. A reference list is included at the end of each instrument entry.
The compendium is written in a clear and concise manner, rendering it a user-friendly, quick reference guide, despite its 750-page-heavy textbook format. The easy to follow structure and clear language make it accessible and useful for health professionals across different settings who might have limited access to bibliographic databases or limited time to conduct a thorough search for appropriate measures. Indeed, the compendium, as stated by the author, is intended for a broad range of clinicians and researchers working in the field of acquired brain injury rehabilitation, including neuropsychologists and rehabilitation psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech pathologists, physicians, nurses, and social workers. The compendium is appropriate for use in diagnostic, rehabilitation, and community settings. Its utility extends to experienced practitioners and researchers, as well as those in training or early in their career. In fact, the compendium could be incorporated as a training tool in advanced assessment seminars for trainees in health and rehabilitation professions.
Tables, figures, and images of instruments are abundant in the compendium, making its nonverbal content as easy to follow as the verbal content. A series of appendices is attached summarizing or breaking down information further in useful ways. For example, Appendix A provides a grouping of the instruments based on the clinical populations for which their use may be more valid.
The presentation of the psychometric properties of each scale is very detailed, including both a section within the text and a table with values for each type of validity, reliability, and responsiveness indicator. One apparent oddity is that the author has classified internal consistency as a validity coefficient, unlike its more widely accepted classification as a reliability coefficient, without providing explanation for this decision. In addition, the majority of the tests were developed for Anglophone populations and little information is provided about limitations because of ethnocultural group differences.
Priced at $200, the cost of the compendium may render it out of reach for individual practitioners, but it is certainly a good bargain for a group practice or a training center, because of its potential for shared use as a reference book. It is one of those books that will not just sit on the shelf but will be consulted often and for diverse reasons. For instance, it may be useful when looking for a validated outcome measure to include in a research grant proposal or when trying to identify a good way to track progress with a patient.
In the limited time that I have had the book in my possession to read and review it, I have actually used it several times either to look up outcome measures for ongoing and future research projects or to read more on a scale that I encountered in my reading of the literature, so I am keeping it on my shelf but within reach.
-Theodore Tsaousides, PhD
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York