The goal of the OMERACT Patient Outcomes in Longitudinal Studies group is to identify patient-centered long-term outcome domains and sub-domains for long-term studies in patients with rheumatic diseases. As a first step, the POLOS group is addressing outcomes for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patient-centered outcomes are those which are relevant to patients and are essential to their well-being. We aim to develop a core set of patient-centered domains and subdomains for longitudinal observational cohorts and registries collecting long-term data on the outcomes of patients with RA.
The steps proposed are:
1) systematic review of existing registries and ongoing cohort studies;
2) qualitative studies to obtain the views and perception of patients with RA;
3) survey of stakeholders (patients, caregivers, clinicians and researchers) to rank and prioritize initial sets of domains and subdomains; and
4) final selection of domains using Delphi methods