Does it matter how we evaluate HRQOL? Longitudinal comparison of the EORTC QLQ-C30/QLQ-OG25 and FACT-E.

Purpose: To determine whether EORTC QLQ-C30/QLQ-OG25 and FACT-E compared longitudinally provide similar reflections of health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Methods: Eighty-six esophageal cancer patients treated with curative intent, scheduled to complete both questionnaires at baseline and post-treatment time points until 36 months. A generalized estimating equation model utilizing a Gaussian family compared instruments longitudinally.

Longitudinal Evaluation of Trial Outcome Index Scores in Patients With Esophageal Cancer.

Background: The purpose of this study was to use the Trial Outcome Index (TOI) to longitudinally assess the effects of treatment for esophageal cancer.

Methods: Patients with esophageal cancer treated with curative intent therapy (N = 84) were evaluated with Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Esophageal Cancer subscale (FACT-E) questionnaires, which were scheduled at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months after completion of treatment. Patients treated with preoperative therapy also completed questionnaires 6 to 8 weeks after starting treatment and after completion of induction treatment (12-14 weeks) just before the operative procedure.

Impact of a pedometer program on nurses working in a health-promoting hospital.

The aim of this research was to describe the impact of a pedometer-based activity program on a subset of nurses in a university-affiliated, multisite health care center in Canada. This study used a longitudinal design with preintervention-postintervention (8 weeks) and follow-up (6 months). At baseline, 60 nurses participated; 51 (85%) remained for the postprogram assessment and 33 (55%) also completed the follow-up questionnaire.

Determinants and benefits of physical activity maintenance in hospital employees.

This study investigated whether the positive behavioral and anthropometric outcomes of a pedometer-based physical activity 8-week challenge were maintained 6 months after the end of the program. It further investigated the motivational profile of those who maintained their physical activity levels in the months following the end of the program and of those who did not. Hospital employees from a university-affiliated multisite health care center in Canada participated using a questionnaire.

Perceived communication between physicians and breast cancer patients as a predicting factor of patients' health-related quality of life: a longitudinal analysis.

Objective: Communication between cancer patients and healthcare providers is recognized as an important aspect of these patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Nevertheless, no study has examined whether perceived communication between physicians and breast cancer patients is a determining factor in their HRQOL along the disease's trajectory. This longitudinal study aimed to ascertain whether such communication influenced the HRQOL of such women at three points in time.