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Health Outcome Measures (health + outcome_measure)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Development of a client-generated health outcome measure for community nursing

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 5 2000
Rhonda Griffiths
Objective:To develop a client-generated outcome measure for use in community nursing. Method:Participants for the study were identified from the case load of community health nurses, from a nursing home service and from residents of a retirement village. All participants had a diagnosis of venous leg ulcer (VLU) and/or type 2 diabetes. Preliminary development of the measure involved focus groups of community clients and health professionals, and pilot testing of an existing quality of life (QoL) measure, the Patient-Generated Index. The resulting Client-Generated Index was tested for reliability and validity. Results:The Pearson's correlation coefficient between administration of the CGI at T1 and T2 was 0.526 (n=51; p=0.0001). The CGI correlated significantly with four of eight dimensions of the SF-36, and with pain as a clinical marker for VLU r=0.54 (p=0.001). Overall, participants with VLU reported a lower QoL (mean CGI score 2.8) compared to those with diabetes (mean CGI score 4.1). Conclusions:The CGI was developed to measure outcomes in community health settings. Some measures of its reliability and validity are demonstrated and further research is needed to validate the instrument using other client groups. Implications:If routine assessment and evaluation is to contribute to measures of outcome, the instruments need to be concise and acceptable to health care providers. The CGI has all these properties. [source]

Patient-assessed health outcome measures for diabetes: a structured review

DIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 1 2002
A. M. Garratt
Abstract Aims To identify available disease-specific measures of health-related quality of life (HRQL) for diabetes and to review evidence for the reliability, validity and responsiveness of instruments. Methods Systematic searches were used to identify instruments. Instruments were assessed against predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Letters were sent to authors requesting details of further instrument evaluation. Information relating to instrument content, patients, reliability, validity and responsiveness to change was extracted from published papers. Results The search produced 252 references. Nine instruments met the inclusion criteria: Appraisal of Diabetes Scale (ADS), Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL), Diabetes Health Profile (DHP-1, DHP-18), Diabetes Impact Measurement Scales (DIMS), Diabetes Quality of Life Measure (DQOL), Diabetes-Specific Quality of Life Scale (DSQOLS), Questionnaire on Stress in Diabetic Patients-Revised (QSD-R), Diabetes-39 (D-39) and Well-being Enquiry for Diabetics (WED). The shortest instrument (ADS) has seven items and the longest (WED) has 50 items. The ADS and ADDQoL are single-index measures. The seven multidimensional instruments have dimensions covering psychological well-being and social functioning but vary in the remainder of their content. The DHP-1 and DSQOLS are specific to Type 1 diabetes patients. The DHP-18 is specific to Type 2 diabetes patients. The DIMS and DQOL have weaker evidence for reliability and internal construct validity. Patients contributed to the content of the ADDQoL, DHP-1/18, DQOL, DSQOLS, D-39, QSD-R and WED. The authors of the ADDQoL, DHP-1/18, DQOL, DSQOLS gave explicit consideration to content validity. The construct validity of instruments was assessed through comparisons with instruments measuring related constructs and clinical and sociodemographic variables. None of the instruments has been formally assessed for responsiveness to changes in health. Conclusions Five of the diabetes-specific instruments have good evidence for reliability and internal and external construct validity: the ADDQoL, DHP-1/18, DSQOLS, D-39 and QSD-R. Instrument content should be assessed for relevance before application. The instruments should be evaluated concurrently for validity and responsiveness to important changes in health. [source]

Critical evaluation of the use of research tools in evaluating quality of life for people with schizophrenia

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 1 2007
Jeanette Hewitt
ABSTRACT:, Schizophrenia may lead to impairments in many aspects of life, including physical, cognitive, and role functioning. The subjective quality of life of people with schizophrenia has been shown to be lower than in the general population and appropriate patient-assessed health outcome measures are necessary to capture the distress and disability experienced by people living with a serious mental illness. Although psychiatry has been slow to become involved in quality of life measurement, the use of quality of life instruments has now been recognized as a means of evaluating the outcome of care interventions, in terms of symptoms and functioning. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of two widely used instruments: The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and The Lancashire Quality of Life Profile (LQoLP) in terms of reliability and validity in measuring the quality of life of people with schizophrenia. The LQoLP appeared to be best suited for evaluation of care programmes, whereas the SF-36 was more appropriate for medical trials, comparisons between patient groups, and assessment of the direct consequences of treatment on health and function. Subjective quality of life should, however, be considered to be distinct from clinical status and quality of life assessment should include the broadest range of indicators, to reflect the holistic ethos of mental health nursing. [source]

An Analysis of the Components of Pain, Function, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Failed Back Surgery Syndrome Treated with Spinal Cord Stimulation or Conventional Medical Management

NEUROMODULATION, Issue 3 2010
FRCA, Sam Eldabe MB
Objectives:, Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) patients experience pain, functional disability, and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) despite anatomically successful surgery. Examining sub-dimensions of health outcomes measures provides insight into patient well-being. Materials and Methods:, The international multicenter PROCESS trial collected detailed HRQoL (EuroQol-5D; Short-Form 36) and function (Oswestry Disability Index) information on 100 FBSS patients. Results:, At baseline, patients reported moderate-to-severe leg and back pain adversely affecting all dimensions of function and HRQoL. Compared with conventional medical management alone, patients also receiving spinal cord stimulation (SCS) reported superior pain relief, function, and HRQoL at six months on overall and most sub-component scores. The majority of these improvements with SCS were sustained at 24 months. Nonetheless, 36,40% of patients experienced ongoing marked disability (standing, lifting) and HRQoL problems (pain/discomfort). Conclusions:, Longer-term patient management and research must focus on these refractory FBSS patients with persisting poor function and HRQoL outcomes. [source]