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A structured review of quality of life instruments for head and neck cancer patients
Author(s) -
Ringash Jolie,
Bezjak Andrea
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0347(200103)23:3<201::aid-hed1019>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , head and neck cancer , reliability (semiconductor) , disease , head and neck , medline , physical therapy , medical physics , cancer , intensive care medicine , surgery , pathology , nursing , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , political science , law
Background Quality of life (QOL) is an important treatment outcome for head and neck cancer. Our purpose was to critically review published disease‐specific QOL instruments. Methods Medline and Cancerlit were searched from 1966–1999. Eight disease‐specific QOL instruments were identified, described, and appraised for development, sensibility, reliability, validity and responsiveness to change. Results Several of the available instruments have been well‐developed and characterized. No one instrument is ideal for all purposes. When selecting a disease‐specific QOL instrument for head and neck cancer patients, careful consideration must be given to disease subsite, treatment, timing of assessment, clinical setting, study purpose and research question. Conclusion Validation of QOL instruments is an ongoing process. Direct comparisons of different instruments may help to establish the most appropriate questionnaire for each situation. Efforts should be focused on the evaluation of existing instruments, rather than the development of new questionnaires. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 23: 201–213, 2001.