(QUEST 2.0) is a 12-item outcome measure that assesses user satisfaction with two components, Device and Services. Psychometric properties have been tested with respect to test-retest stability. alternate-form equivalence. internal consistency, factorial composition and nomological validity. Examples of results obtained with the first version of the tool in outcome studies in Europe and North America support the importance and relevance of the satisfaction measure.

Drug therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been evaluated in clinical trials over the past 2 decades. Systematic reviews of AD drug trials can shed more light on the efficacy of pharmaceutical interventions. The modified Jadad scale can be used to assess the quality of trial reports that are candidates for inclusion in these systematic reviews. The interrater reliability of the modified Jadad scale was examined during such a review. Three blinded reviewers rated the quality of 42 AD drug trial reports: the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.90. The modified Jadad scale appears to be a useful tool for AD research because of the very good interrater reliability. Also, it is composed of items that are well suited to the specific disease characteristics of AD. Further research should focus on the validity of this instrument.

This study's purpose was to develop a clinical instrument designed to evaluate user satisfaction with assistive technology devices. This paper describes the methodology used to develop the instrument entitled the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology (QUEST). Based on the theoretical and practical foundations of assistive technology as well as on the concept of satisfaction, preliminary versions of the instrument were created and examined by a panel of team participants. After the panel's recommendations were incorporated, a pretest of the revised instrument was conducted and the final French version of QUEST emerged. The originality of QUEST lies in its inter-activeness and user-directed approach to assessing satisfaction with assistive technology. From a set of 27 variables, the user is asked to indicate the degree of importance he/she attributes to each of the satisfaction variables and then to rate his/her degree of satisfaction with each of the variables considered (quite or very) important. While QUEST remains a clinical instrument undergoing pilot testing, it holds much promise in our quest for a reliable and valid means of assessing assistive technology outcome from the user's perspective.

The Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST) is an outcomes assessment tool designed to measure satisfaction with assistive technology in a structured and standardized way. The purpose of this article is to present the results of an analysis of the 24 items comprising QUEST and to explain how a subset of items demonstrating optimal measurement performance was selected. The criteria against which the items were measured were general acceptability, content validity, contribution to internal consistency, test-retest stability, and sensitivity. The items that ranked best in terms of these measurement properties were submitted to factorial analysis in order to complete the item selection. The first series of analyses reduced the item pool approximately by half, and the second series of analyses led to the final selection of 12 items. Factor analysis results suggested a bidimensional structure of satisfaction with assistive technology related to the assistive technology device (eight items) and services (four items). The 12-item revised version that will result from this study should prove to be a reliable and valid instrument for measuring outcomes in the field of assistive technology.