02001nas a2200205   4500008004100000020004600041245007900087210006900166260004100235300001400276490000700290520127200297653003001569653002501599653003401624100001301658700001801671700001601689856009001705       2005                        eng d  a0017-9124 (Print); 1475-6773 (Electronic)00aDynamic assessment of health outcomes: Time to let the CAT out of the bag?0 aDynamic assessment of health outcomes Time to let the CAT out of  bBlackwell Publishing: United Kingdom  a1694-17110 v403 aBackground: The use of item response theory (IRT) to measure self-reported outcomes has burgeoned in recent years. Perhaps the most important application of IRT is computer-adaptive testing (CAT), a measurement approach in which the selection of items is tailored for each respondent. Objective. To provide an introduction to the use of CAT in the measurement of health outcomes, describe several IRT models that can be used as the basis of CAT, and discuss practical issues associated with the use of adaptive scaling in research settings. Principal Points: The development of a CAT requires several steps that are not required in the development of a traditional measure including identification of "starting" and "stopping" rules. CAT's most attractive advantage is its efficiency. Greater measurement precision can be achieved with fewer items. Disadvantages of CAT include the high cost and level of technical expertise required to develop a CAT. Conclusions: Researchers, clinicians, and patients benefit from the availability of psychometrically rigorous measures that are not burdensome. CAT outcome measures hold substantial promise in this regard, but their development is not without challenges. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)10acomputer adaptive testing10aItem Response Theory10aself reported health outcomes1 aCook, KF1 aO'Malley, K J1 aRoddey, T S  uhttp://mail.iacat.org/content/dynamic-assessment-health-outcomes-time-let-cat-out-bag00510nas a2200121   4500008004100000245009900041210006900140100001300209700001600222700001800238700001500256856011700271       2003                        eng d00aDevelopment and psychometric evaluation of the Flexilevel Scale of Shoulder Function (FLEX-SF)0 aDevelopment and psychometric evaluation of the Flexilevel Scale 1 aCook, KF1 aRoddey, T S1 aGartsman, G M1 aOlson, S L  uhttp://mail.iacat.org/content/development-and-psychometric-evaluation-flexilevel-scale-shoulder-function-flex-sf