Table 3 Outcome measures
Construct | Instrument(s) | Description and pyschometric properties |
|---|---|---|
Health-related quality of life | Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) [39,40] | SF-36 a widely used, generic, patient-report measure created to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL). It consists of eight domains: physical functioning, role limitations due to physical problems, bodily pain, general health perceptions, social functioning, general mental health, role limitations due to emotional problems, and vitality. SF-36 has been widely tested, and, with the exception of the social functioning subscale, has excellent internal consistency and interrater reliability; SF-36 has adequate to excellent convergent validity with a number of functional and HRQoL scales. |
The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Head and Neck Version 4 (FACT-H&N) [41] | Self-report reliable and valid quality of life questionnaire. The scale consists of a core FACT-G (General) questionnaire that covers four domains: physical, social/family, emotional, and functional. The scale is supplemented by a head and neck cancer specific subscale. Items are rated on a 0 (Not at all) to 4 (Very much) Likert scale and scores are calculated to produce subscale scores for each domain. It is reliable and valid in patients with HNC, scores correlating with treatment status and global performance status. | |
Participation | Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNL) [42] | The RNL consists of 11 items covering areas such as recreational and social participation, community mobility, family roles and other relationships. It has high internal consistency, moderate interrater reliability and is correlated with measures of quality of life and well being. |
Self-efficacy | Self-Efficacy Gage (SEG) [43] | The SEG asks participants to rate 28 functional activities on a 10-point scale of how confident they are to complete the activity without the help of another person, with 1 indicating “not confident at all” and 10 indicating “completely confident”. The SEG has excellent internal consistency (r = 0.94), test-retest reliability (0.90), and convergent validity has been demonstrated through significant correlations with occupational performance. |
Return to work | Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) Work Status Questionnaire [44] | The RTOG Work Status Questionnaire is a brief, patient-report tool that takes less than 5 min to complete. It was designed for use in RTOG trials, and psychometric properties have not been tested but meet content validity criteria and sensibility criteria. |
Goal attainment | The GAS is a measure that allows the comparison of individual progress towards personal goals between participants. Patients’ level of attainment are rated on a five –point scale from −2 (much less than expected) to +2 (much more than expected). Patients who obtain a score of zero or higher are considered to have achieved their goals. The GAS has been shown to have high interrater reliability, good content validity, good responsiveness, and to be responsive to clinically important change. |