The PROsetta Stone® project represents a major step towards clarifying the relationships between instruments that measure similar constructs.

By comparing several different linking methods and applying an optimal method, the PROsetta Stone® methodology places two instruments on the same metric, allowing the creation of a cross-walk table. This cross-walk table matches each possible score on a "legacy" instrument to a T-score of the comparable PROMIS instrument. (The PROMIS T-score has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10, and is centered on the US general population.)

In order to link two instruments, the PROsetta Stone® project analyzed data from single-group design studies, meaning that all items from both instruments were administered to the same sample.

Data were collected on a minimum of 400 respondents (for stable item parameter estimation) along with at least one other conceptually similar scale or bank and were obtained from existing datasets in PROMIS, Neuro-QoL, and NIH Toolbox studies; in addition, three waves of data were also collected specifically for the purpose of linking.

The samples included both adult and pediatric data; instruments were linked in major health outcome domains, including depression, anxiety, fatigue, pain, sleep disturbance, and physical functioning.

To learn more about the methodology used in the PROsetta Stone®, please refer to the Methodology Report.

To conduct linking analysis with PRO measures, please refer to the PROsetta R package.