Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2017
Exploratory Factor Analysis of NRG Oncology's University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire - RTOG Modification.
The 15-item University of Washington Quality of Life questionnaire-Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) modification (UW-QOL-RTOG modification) has been used in several trials of head and neck cancer conducted by NRG Oncology such as RTOG 9709, RTOG 9901, RTOG 0244, and RTOG 0537. ⋯ The UW-QOL-RTOG modification is a valid tool that can be used to assess symptom burden of head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation therapy or those who have recently completed radiation. The modified tool has acceptable reliability, concurrent validity, and test-retest reliability in this patient population, as well as the advantage of having being shortened from 15 to 11 items.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2017
Perception of Helpfulness of a Question Prompt Sheet among Cancer Patients Attending Outpatient Palliative Care.
Data on the use of question prompt sheets (QPSs) in palliative care are limited. Our team previously developed a single-page QPS using a Delphi process. The main objective of this study was to determine the perception of helpfulness of a QPS in patient-physician communication among advanced cancer outpatients. ⋯ The QPS was perceived as helpful in patient-physician communication among advanced cancer outpatients and it did not increase patient anxiety. Physicians similarly reported that the QPS was helpful and it did not prolong clinic visits. Further research is needed for its widespread adoption and integration into routine clinical practice.