Measures and meanings: outcome measures in the management of sexually transmitted infections

Abstract

Summary: Applicable outcome measures in genitourinary medicine (GUM) include compliance with clinical standards of care, symptom control, cure rates of infections, decreased incidence of infections, lack of complications, increase in patients' knowledge or satisfaction, and number of partners treated. Measuring these may be easy in the short-term but result in information of limited usefulness. Longer-term outcomes may be more meaningful, but harder-or impossible-to obtain. Some outcome measures are affected by case mix, so differences between patients may be as much as or more relevant than the care received. Quantitative and qualitative measurements of patient satisfaction are straightforward to obtain and essential in examining care delivery, but may be unrelated to desired clinical outcomes for individuals or populations. Compliance with clinical standards is easy to measure, relatively independent of case mix, and useful if standards are evidence-based and validated. The role and applicability of outcome measures are discussed.