Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation
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Although the use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROs) has increased markedly, clinical interpretation of scores remains lacking. We developed a method to identify clinical severity thresholds for pain, fatigue, depression, and anxiety in people with cancer. ⋯ The study results provide empirically generated PROMIS T score thresholds that differentiate levels of symptom severity for pain interference, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. The convergence of clinical judgment with self-reported patient severity scores supports the validity of this methodology to derive clinically relevant symptom severity levels for PROMIS symptom measures in other settings.
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The purpose of this study was to assess the invariance of a culturally competent multi-lingual unmet needs survey. ⋯ The study highlights the intricacies in designing a culturally competent survey that can be applied to culturally and linguistically diverse groups across different treatment contexts. Overall, the results demonstrate that this survey is somewhat invariant with respect to these factors. Future refinements are suggested to enhance the survey's cultural competence and general validity.
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Fatigue is one of the most prevalent and significant symptoms experienced by breast cancer patients. This study aimed to investigate potential population heterogeneity in fatigue symptoms of the patients using the innovative non-normal mixture modeling. ⋯ The non-normal factor mixture models suggest two distinct subgroups of patients on their fatigue symptoms. The presence of the exhausted class with exacerbated symptoms calls for a proactive assessment of the symptoms and development of tailored interventions for this subgroup.
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This study explored the residents' health outcomes of long-term care (LTC) facilities and examined the risk factors in individual and institutional levels during 1 year of admission. ⋯ The methodological strength using LGCMs provides a framework for systematically assessing the influence of risk factors from various levels on residents' outcomes and follow-up change. It is evident that factors in various levels all influenced residents' outcomes which support critical information for case mix and quality management in LTC facilities. Under the scenario of a surplus of institutional care in Taiwan, we suggest that institutions must focus more on residents' psychological well-being and care quality, especially in small-sized homes in relation to the outcomes of its residents.
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The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS (®) ) is a US National Institutes of Health initiative that has produced self-reported item banks for physical, mental and social health. ⋯ The PROMIS-ICF mapped items provide a basis for users to evaluate the ICF-related content of specific PROMIS instruments and to select PROMIS instruments in ICF-based measurement applications.