Strengths and challenges of the COSMIN tools in outcome measures appraisal: A case example for speech-language therapy.

Background: The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) is an international initiative that offers standardized and validated tools to guide the appraisal of patient-reported outcome measures in healthcare.

Aims: To explore the use of a new set of tools from the COSMIN to appraise studies on one outcome measure available to speech and language therapists (SLTs).

Methods & Procedures: We used the COSMIN tools to appraise seven studies and a user manual that reported the measurement properties of the Focus on the Outcomes of Children Under Six (FOCUS), a validated measure of pre-schoolers' communicative participation that is used in various contexts around the world.

Assessing communicative participation in preschool children with the Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six: a scoping review.

Aim: To describe uses of the Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS) in research with children with and without various communication disorders since its publication in 2010.

Method: Six databases were searched for the term 'Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six'. With additional searches we ascertained 70 articles, of which 25 met inclusion criteria for full review and data extraction.

Validity of a streamlined version of the Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six: Process and outcome.

Background: The Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS) is a 50-item outcome measure based on the framework and concepts of World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning. The FOCUS has been shown to capture participation-level changes associated with speech and language therapy in children 18 to 72 months old and has established validity and reliability. However, there were reasons to try to reduce the measure without losing any of its proven value as a change-detecting instrument.

Factors Contributing to Preschoolers' Communicative Participation Outcomes: Findings From a Population-Based Longitudinal Cohort Study in Ontario, Canada.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify predictors of communicative participation outcomes for a large cohort of preschoolers with speech and language impairments.

Method: A secondary analysis of longitudinal program evaluation data from Ontario, Canada's Preschool Speech and Language Program was done. Data available for 46,872 children 18-67 months of age (M = 41.

A population-based study of communicative participation in preschool children with speech-language impairments.

Aim: To develop statistical models of communicative participation development of preschool children and explore variations by level of function.

Method: This was a secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal study of preschool children with speech and language impairments (n=46 872; age range 18-67mo, mean age [SD] 41.76mo [11.