Patient-reported outcome measures for dysphagia in head and neck cancer: A systematic review and appraisal of content validity and internal structure.

Dysphagia is a major head and neck cancer (HNC) issue. Dysphagia-related patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are critical for patient-centred assessment and intervention tailoring. This systematic review aimed to derive a comprehensive inventory of HNC dysphagia PROMs and appraise their content validity and internal structure.

A core outcome set for patient-reported dysphagia for use in head and neck cancer clinical trials: An international multistakeholder Delphi study.

Background: Measuring dysphagia-related patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) patients is challenging due to dysphagia's multidimensional impact, causing inconsistency in outcome reporting. To address this issue, this study derived a consensus-based core outcome set (COS) for patient-reported dysphagia in HNC clinical trials where swallowing is a primary or secondary endpoint.

Methods: A sample of HNC clinicians, researchers, patients, and caregivers participated in a 2-Round Delphi technique.

Exploring the Acceptability of Behavioral Swallowing Interventions for Head and Neck Cancer Patients During Radiotherapy: A Qualitative Study of Patients' Experience.

The PRO-ACTIVE randomized clinical trial offers 3 swallowing therapies to Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) patients during radiotherapy namely: reactive, proactive low- ("EAT-RT" only), and high-intensity ("EAT-RT + exercises"). Understanding the perceived acceptability of these interventions is important to inform eventual implementation into clinical practice. This study explored patients' perspectives using qualitative methodology.

The Acceptability of Behavioural Swallowing Interventions for Head and Neck Cancer Patients During Radiotherapy: A Qualitative Study Exploring Experiences of Clinical Trial Speech-Language Pathologists.

The PRO-ACTIVE randomized clinical trial offers 3 swallowing therapies to Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) patients during radiotherapy (RT) namely: reactive, proactive low- ("EAT-RT" only) and high-intensity ("EAT-RT + exercises"). Understanding the experiences of the trial Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) will be useful to inform clinical implementation. This study assessed SLP opinions of acceptability and clinical feasibility of the 3 trial therapies.

Psychometric properties of patient-reported outcome measures for dysphagia in head and neck cancer: a systematic review protocol using COSMIN methodology.

Background: Dysphagia (swallowing difficulty) is one of the most common and debilitating sequelae of head and neck cancer (HNC). Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are a fundamental component of dysphagia outcomes evaluation, as they inform treatment consequences that cannot be captured by objective clinician measures. Many PROMs for dysphagia in HNC are available, but their validity is unclear.

European white paper: oropharyngeal dysphagia in head and neck cancer.

Purpose: To develop a European White Paper document on oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) in head and neck cancer (HNC). There are wide variations in the management of OD associated with HNC across Europe.

Methods: Experts in the management of specific aspects of OD in HNC across Europe were delegated by their professional medical and multidisciplinary societies to contribute to this document.

Communication difficulties in adults with Intellectual Disability: Results from a national cross-sectional study.

Background: People with an intellectual disability (ID) are vulnerable to communication impairments, with consequences for employment, education, and social participation.

Aims: To identify the communication skills of a population of adults (40+ years) with ID and explore relationships between individual and environmental factors and communication skills.

Methods And Procedures: Data from a sample of 601 adults with ID was selected from the Intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA) addressing communication characteristics, demographics, co-morbidities, challenging behaviours, and social participation.

Interventions for Feeding and Swallowing Disorders in Adults with Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review of the Evidence.

Feeding and swallowing disorders are prevalent in adults with Intellectual Disability (ID) and can potentially lead to discomfort, malnutrition, dehydration, aspiration, and choking. Most common interventions include: diet modification, compensatory strategies, swallowing therapy, and non-oral feeding. Despite their common use, the research evidence for these interventions is lacking.