Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation
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Objectives of this longitudinal study were to examine 3-year trajectories of global perceived quality of life (QOL) for youth with chronic health conditions, as obtained from youth and parent reports, and to identify personal and environmental factors associated with the trajectory groups for each perspective. ⋯ Findings suggest that youth with chronic conditions experience stable global perceived QOL across time, but that some individuals maintain stability at moderate to moderate/low levels which is related to ongoing personal and environmental influences. Potential benefits of universal strategies and programs to safeguard resilience for all youth and targeted interventions to optimize certain youths' global perceived QOL are indicated.
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Chronic itch (CI) is a common symptom in haemodialysis (HD) patients affecting about every 4th HD patient. Though it is known that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is impaired in HD patients, data are lacking on how CI influences HRQOL in this group of patients, also regarding sex differences and the role of sleep and pain. ⋯ Impairments in HRQOL are a serious problem in HD patients. CI means an additional burden in affected patients, also impairing their HRQOL. GEHIS showed significant sex differences in HRQOL outcomes also in HD patients. CI and pain as well as sleep frequently occur combined and significantly impair HRQOL in HD patients. The care of HD patients should be complemented by psychosocial support and mental health services.
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Accurate assessment of preference-based health-related quality of life is important in determining the value of asthma interventions. ⋯ The AQL-5D appears more responsive to changes in asthma control over time and more sensitive to detecting differences corresponding to the ACQ-5 MCID than the EQ-5D-3L. Using the EQ-5D-3L without an asthma-specific measure such as the AQL-5D may miss clinically important changes in asthma control.
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Patient experiences with symptom care need to be assessed and documented to ensure successful management of cancer-related symptoms. This paper details one method for creating symptom management quality improvement (SMQI) reports, including case-mix adjustment of patient-reported measures. Qualitative data regarding the acceptability of these reports at participating cancer centers (CCs) are also provided. ⋯ This paper provides one method for creating hospital-level SMQI reports, including case-mix adjustment. Variation between CCs on key quality indicators, even after adjustment, suggested room for improvement. SMQI reports based on patient-reported data can inform and motivate efforts to improve care through professional/patient education and applying standards of care.
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To help address wait times for elective surgery, British Columbia has implemented a triaging system that assigns priority levels to patients based on their diagnoses. The extent to which these priority levels concords with patients' assessment of their health status is not known. The purpose of this study was to measure the association between the priority levels assigned to patients and their patient-reported outcomes data collected at the time of being enrolled on the surgical wait list. ⋯ This study observed no relationship between patients' self-reported health status and their assigned priority level for elective surgery. A more patient-centered approach to triaging patients for surgical treatment would incorporate patients' perspective in surgical wait list prioritization systems.