Process / pipelinePatient-reported outcome

Anchor-Based Minimal Important Difference

The anchor-based method for establishing Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) is a technique for determining the smallest change in a patient-reported outcome (PRO) that patients or clinicians perceive as meaningful or important. Pioneered by Guyatt, Jaeschke, and Singer in 1989, this approach anchors changes in outcome scores to external clinically meaningful events or judgments, enabling researchers and clinicians to interpret whether treatment effects represent real, patient-relevant improvements.

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Sources

  1. Jaeschke, R., Singer, J., & Guyatt, G. H. (1989). Measurement of health status: Ascertaining the minimal clinically important difference. Controlled Clinical Trials, 10(4), 407-415. DOI: 10.1016/0197-2456(89)90005-6
  2. Revicki, D., Hays, R. D., Cella, D., & Sloan, J. (2008). Recommended methods for determining responsiveness and minimally important differences for patient-reported outcomes. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 61(2), 102-109. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.03.012
  3. Copay, A. G., Chung, A. S., Pfeiffer, T., Borframes, R., Braswell, K., Chou, L. C., & Spangehl, M. J. (2007). Minimum clinically important difference: a review of nomenclature, methods, and applications in speech-language pathology. Journal of Medical Speech-Language Pathology, 15(4), xlii-xliii. link

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Referenced by

ScholarGateAnchor-Based Minimal Important Difference (Anchor-Based Method for Establishing Minimal Important Difference (Minimal Clinically Important Difference) in Patient-Reported Outcomes). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/psychometrics/anchor-based-minimal-important-difference