Introduction to the Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective

The Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective (PART-O, Whiteneck, Dijkers, Heinemann, et al., 2011) is an objective measure of participation, representing functioning at the societal level. Developed by the NIDRR-sponsored Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems, the original instrument included 24 items derived or modified from three measures commonly found in the TBI literature: Community Integration Questionnaire (Willer, Ottenbacher and Coad, 1994); Participation Objective, Participation Subjective (Brown, Dijkers, Gordon et al., 2004); and the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (Whiteneck, Charlifue, Gerhart et al., 1992) (see these scales on the COMBI website as well). Whatever the questions' source, consistent categories offered for number of hours, number of times, and similar reports on involvement in activities that reflect participation were created. A subsequent revision, the PART-O-17, shortened the instrument to 17 items (Bogner, Whiteneck, Corrigan, et al., 2011).

The PART-O was developed to examine long-term outcomes and can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to improve social/societal functioning. The z-scores can be used to provide the basis for an assessment of progress in post-acute rehabilitation, allowing for an assessment of intra-individual differences in change across domains as well as inter-individual comparisons with the normative groups. The authors caution that the normative data is best used with individuals from similar demographic groups.

Information regarding the PART-O was contributed by the Ohio Regional TBI Model System. Please contact Jennifer Bogner, Ph.D. at for more information.

If you find the information in the COMBI useful, please mention it when citing sources of information. The information on the PART-O may be cited as:

Bogner, J. (2013). The Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective. The Center for Outcome Measurement in Brain Injury. http://www.tbims.org/combi/parto ( accessed ).