QOL measures- Applications

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

When HRQOL measure is used as a longitudinal study device that surveys patients before, during, and after treatment, it can help health care providers determine which treatment plan is the best option, thereby improving healthcare through an evolutionary process.

There has been increasing interest in the value of patient-reported symptom assessment in trials and their potential usage as primary or secondary endpoints in new trials. Both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have endorsed QOL, but they are not always incorporated into trials because of the additional resources needed for data collection.

It has also been recommended that QOL measurements should be included as a secondary endpoint in adjuvant therapy trials only when the medical outcome is expected to be about the same, or if the study focuses on a vulnerable population such as the elderly; or tests a new intervention for which QOL information needs to be obtained.

Another suggestion is that when QOL is not the primary endpoint of a trial, "QOL results should ideally appear in a companion article published at the same time as the traditional medical outcomes article so that a full view of the risks and benefits of the intervention can be presented at the same time to clinicians."

Whatever the application, it is important to remember that- “Using the appropriate instrument is essential if outcome measures are to be valid and clinically meaningfulâ€.

Dr. Smita