The proposed conference on """"""""Ambulatory Assessment"""""""" will examine the application of ecologically-based assessment methods to health care intervention delivery and clinical outcome measurement. Ambulatory assessment methods have traditionally been used to understand biopsychosocial processes as they naturally unfold in time and in context and include methodologies such as experience sampling, repeated-entry diary techniques, and ambulatory monitoring of physiological function, physical activity and movement. This proposed conference will facilitate application of ambulatory assessment methods to clinical practice by: 1) providing a foundation of knowledge on measurement implications, research design, and conduct using these methods;2) forming collaborative networks of researchers and clinicians from different disciplines (e.g., rehabilitation medicine, psychology, rheumatology, engineers);and 3) providing a comprehensive synthesis of research from the conference by publication of a special issue. There is a need to form collaborative networks and provide a central source of information on ambulatory assessment for clinical purposes. The first meeting of a newly-established core international group of ambulatory assessment researchers (Society of Ambulatory Assessment) took place in June 2009 in Greifswald, Germany and focused on providing information on ambulatory assessment and introducing members. The meeting was heavily attended by psychologists, but there was also a group of researchers from different disciplines using ambulatory assessment for intervention development, delivery, or clinical outcome measurement. With support from the University of Michigan Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, our goal for a 2011 Society of Ambulatory Assessment meeting is to fully explore the application of ambulatory assessment for clinical purposes. Due to the burgeoning use of these methods in several disciplines, such as medicine, rehabilitation, and psychology, this conference is timely and applicable to many researchers at the University of Michigan and beyond.
The proposed conference on """"""""Ambulatory Assessment"""""""" will examine the use and application of """"""""real-world"""""""" based assessment methods for healthcare intervention delivery and the measurement of outcomes of healthcare interventions. During this 21/2 day conference, researchers on ambulatory assessment from different disciplines will present their work and engage in an exchange of ideas during discussions that follow formal presentations and in separate break-out sessions. A summary of speaker presentations will be compiled into a manuscript to provide a foundation of knowledge on ambulatory assessment methods to promote its use in rehabilitation research.
