title: Graphical displays of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) for use in clinical practice: What makes a pro picture worth a thousand words?
abstract: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) report patients' assessments of the impact of a health condition and its treatment, and can promote patient-centered care.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To address the effectiveness of graphic display of PRO data in clinical practice by reviewing existing literature, and current recommendations, regarding graphic presentations of PROs.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed an integrated literature review to identify themes and emerging principles guiding effective graphic display of PRO data. The findings were placed in the context of the literature informing graphical presentation of other clinical data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although a large body of literature informs graphical presentation of clinical data, only nine empirical studies addressed presentation of PROs. Four major themes emerged: many patients and most clinicians can accurately interpret some PRO graphs; interpretation accuracy, personal preference, and perceived level of understanding are sometimes discordant; patient age and education may predict PRO graph comprehension; patients tend to prefer simpler graphs than do clinicians.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Little empirical research specifically addresses graphic representation of PRO data. A single format may not work optimally for both clinicians and patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients and clinicians may or may not comprehend PRO data when graphically presented. Further research to determine best practices for presenting PROs optimally is needed.
authors.affiliation: Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, 1650 Orleans St., Baltimore, MD 21287, United States. Electronic address: ebantug1@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Elissa T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Bantug
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Coles
authors.affiliation: Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, 1650 Orleans St., Baltimore, MD 21287, United States; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States.
authors.forename: Katherine C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, 1650 Orleans St., Baltimore, MD 21287, United States; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States; Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States.
authors.forename: Claire F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.affiliation: Queen's Cancer Research Institute, 10 Stuart Street, Level 2, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rouette
authors.affiliation: Queen's Cancer Research Institute, 10 Stuart Street, Level 2, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Brundage
mesh_terms: D032882:Comprehension; D003626:Data Display; D006801:Humans; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D018802:Patient-Centered Care
keywords: Graphic display of data; Patient centered care; Patient-reported outcomes