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General HRQOL (general + hrqol)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Specialty care and education associated with greater disease-specific knowledge but not satisfaction with care for chronic hepatitis C

ALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 3 2009
L. A. BESTE
Summary Background, Little is known about differences among hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients managed by generalists vs. specialists with respect to patient-centred outcomes, such as disease-specific knowledge, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and satisfaction with care. Aim, To examine selected patient-centred outcomes of HCV-related care provided in primary care, specialty care or both. Methods, A total of 629 chronic HCV patients completed a survey including an HCV knowledge assessment and validated instruments for satisfaction and HRQoL. Multivariable linear regression was used to compare outcomes between groups. Results, Adjusted total HCV knowledge score was lower among patients who did not attend specialty care (P < 0.01). Primary care and specialty patients did not differ in adjusted general HRQoL or satisfaction. Sixty percent of specialty patients underwent formal HCV education, which was associated with 5% higher knowledge score (P = 0.01). General HRQoL and patient satisfaction did not differ between primary care and specialty groups. Disease-specific knowledge and care satisfaction were independent of mental illness, substance abuse, socio-economic variables, history of antiviral treatment, formal HCV education and duration of time between last visit and survey completion. Conclusions, Primary care patients with chronic HCV have lower adjusted disease-specific knowledge than specialty patients, but no difference in general HRQoL or patient satisfaction. [source]

The Effect of Comorbidity and Socioeconomic Status on Sexual and Urinary Function and on General Health-Related Quality of Life in Men Treated with Radical Prostatectomy for Localized Prostate Cancer

THE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 4 2008
Pierre I. Karakiewicz MD
ABSTRACT Introduction., Different treatments for localized prostate cancer (PCa) may be associated with similar overall survival but may demonstrate important differences in health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Therefore, valid interpretation of cancer control outcomes requires adjustment for HRQOL. Aim., To assess the effect of comorbidity and socioeconomic status (SES) on sexual and urinary function as well as general HRQOL in men treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) for PCa. Methods., We sent a self-addressed mail survey, composed of the research and development short form 36-item health survey, the PCa-specific University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Prostate Cancer Index (PCI), as well as a battery of items addressing SES and lifetime prevalence of comorbidity, to 4,546 men treated with RP in Quebec between 1988 and 1996. Main Outcome Measures., The association between comorbidity, SES, and HRQOL was tested and quantified using univariable and multivariable linear regression models. Results., Survey responses from 2,415 participants demonstrated that comorbidity and SES are strongly related to sexual, urinary, and general HRQOL in univariable and multivariable analyses. In multivariable models, the presence of comorbid conditions was associated with significantly worse HRQOL, as evidenced by lower scale scores by as much as 17/100 points in general domains, and by as much as 10/100 points in PCa-specific domains. Favorable SES characteristics were related to higher general (up to 9/100 points) and higher PCa-specific (up to 8/100 points) HRQOL scale scores. Conclusions., Comorbidity and SES are strongly associated with sexual, urinary and general HRQOL. Karakiewicz PI, Bhojani N, Neugut A, Shariat SF, Jeldres C, Graefen M, Perrotte P, Peloquin F, and Kattan MW. The effect of comorbidity and socioeconomic status on sexual and urinary function and on general health-related quality of life in men treated with radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer. J Sex Med 2008;5:919,927. [source]

Cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons of health-related quality of life between patients with prostate carcinoma and matched controls,,§

CANCER, Issue 9 2004
M.P.H., Richard M. Hoffman M.D.
Abstract BACKGROUND Prostate carcinoma and treatments affect health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The authors prospectively compared prostate and general HRQOL between prostate carcinoma cases and an age-matched and ethnicity-matched control group. METHODS The case cohort consisted of 293 men with localized prostate carcinoma who were selected randomly from the population-based New Mexico Tumor Registry, and the control cohort consisted of 618 men who were selected randomly from administrative databases and matched for age and ethnicity. Subjects completed a baseline survey of demographics, socioeconomic status, comorbidity, and prostate and general HRQOL. Also, 210 cases (71.7%) and 421 controls (67.8%) completed a follow-up survey 5 years later. Multinomial logistic regression models compared baseline characteristics as well as 5-year general HRQOL outcomes measured by selected domains of the Medical Outcomes Study SF-36. The authors used a mixed-model repeated-measures analysis of variance and multinomial regression analyses to compare longitudinal changes in urinary, bowel, and sexual function between groups. RESULTS At baseline, patients with prostate carcinoma had better urinary control and sexual function than controls. Over 5 years, sexual function declined significantly among controls, although urinary function remained stable. However, patients with cancer subsequently reported significant declines in both domains and were left with much worse function and more bother than controls. Bowel function and general HRQOL were similar for both groups at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Prostate carcinoma treatment led to significant 5-year declines in urinary and sexual function that far exceeded age-related changes in controls. Patients with cancer had significantly worse function and more bother than controls for these disease-specific domains of HRQOL. Bowel function and general HRQOL were not affected by cancer status. Cancer 2004. Published 2004 American Cancer Society. [source]