Single-item electronic administration of the SF-36v2 Health Survey.

Purpose: To evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structure of a computerized electronic version of the SF-36v2 Health Survey (SF-36v2) with items administered one-per-page versus the traditional grid format used in the paper-and-pencil version in a sample of physician-diagnosed headache patients.

Methods: Patients (N = 180) completed the SF-36v2 administered as part of a broader study of health outcomes. Scaling assumptions, reliability, factor structure, and the tool's ability to discriminate between headache pain severity groups were examined.

Cognitive testing and readability of an item bank for measuring the impact of headache on health-related quality of life.

Background: Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) measures should be valid and accessible to a wide audience.

Objective: Cognitive item testing and readability studies were conducted to evaluate how adult headache sufferers (N = 9) understood and responded to the Headache Impact Test (HIT™) item bank, a PRO measure for headache that serves as the source of item content for the HIT-6™ (a widely used six-item short-form measure of headache impact with more than 30 language translations), and the Dynamic Health Assessment Headache Impact Test (DYNHA® HIT™) [a computerized adaptive test (CAT) of headache impact].

Methods: During cognitive interviews, participants were asked to 'think aloud' as they read survey instructions, completed items, and formulated responses.

A computerized adaptive version of the SF-36 is feasible for clinic and Internet administration in adults with HIV.

DYNHA SF-36 is a computerized adaptive test version of the SF-36 Health Survey. The feasibility of administering a modified DYNHA SF-36 to adults with HIV was evaluated with Johns Hopkins University Moore (HIV) Clinic patients (N=100) and Internet consumer health panel members (N=101). Participants completed the DYNHA SF-36, modified to capture seven health domains [(physical function (PF), role function (RF, without physical or emotional attribution), bodily pain (BP), general health, vitality (VT), social function (SF), mental health (MH)], and scored to produce two summary components [Physical Component Summary (PCS), Mental Component Summary (MCS)].

Development of a computerized adaptive test to assess health-related quality of life in adults with asthma.

Objective: The purpose of this research was to calibrate an item bank for a computerized adaptive test (CAT) of asthma impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), test CAT versions of varying lengths, conduct preliminary validity testing, and evaluate item bank readability.

Methods: Asthma Impact Survey (AIS) bank items that passed focus group, cognitive testing, and clinical and psychometric reviews were administered to adults with varied levels of asthma control. Adults self-reporting asthma (N = 1106) completed an Internet survey including 88 AIS items, the Asthma Control Test, and other HRQOL outcome measures.

Heuristic evaluation and usability testing of a computerized patient-reported outcomes survey for headache sufferers.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate usability of a prototype tablet PC-administered computerized adaptive test (CAT) of headache impact and patient feedback report, referred to as HEADACHE-CAT.

Materials And Methods: Heuristic evaluation specialists (n = 2) formed a consensus opinion on the application's strengths and areas for improvement based on general usability principles and human factors research. Usability testing involved structured interviews with headache sufferers (n = 9) to assess how they interacted with and navigated through the application, and to gather input on the survey and report interface, content, visual design, navigation, instructions, and user preferences.

Using Qualitative Research to Inform the Development of a Comprehensive Outcomes Assessment for Asthma.

BACKGROUND: Qualitative research can inform the development of asthma patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures and user-friendly technologies through defining measurement constructs, identifying potential limitations in measurement and sources of response error, and evaluating usability. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the current study was to inform the development of a comprehensive asthma PRO assessment with input from patients and clinical experts. METHOD: Self-reported adult asthma sufferers recruited from a 3,000 member New England-area research panel participated in either one of three focus groups (N=21) or individual cognitive item debriefing interviews (N=20) to discuss how asthma impacts their health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and provide feedback on a preliminary set of asthma impact survey items and prototype patient report.

Using qualitative research to inform the development of a comprehensive outcomes assessment for asthma.

Background: : Qualitative research can inform the development of asthma patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures and user-friendly technologies through defining measurement constructs, identifying potential limitations in measurement and sources of response error, and evaluating usability.

Objective: : To inform the development of a comprehensive asthma PRO assessment with input from patients and clinical experts.

Methods: : Self-reported adult asthma patients recruited from a 3000-member New England area research panel participated in either one of three focus groups (n = 21) or individual cognitive item debriefing interviews (n = 20) to discuss how asthma impacts their health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), and provide feedback on a preliminary set of asthma impact survey items and prototype patient reports.

PPARalpha activation elevates blood pressure and does not correct glucocorticoid-induced insulin resistance in humans.

Fibrates, activators of the nuclear receptor PPARalpha, improve dyslipidemia, but their effects on insulin resistance and vascular disease are unresolved. To test the hypothesis that PPARalpha activation improves insulin resistance and vascular function, we determined the effects of fenofibrate in healthy adults with insulin resistance induced by short-term glucocorticoid administration. Eighteen normal-weight subjects were studied in four stages: at baseline, after 21 days of fenofibrate (160 mg/day) alone, after 3 days of dexamethasone (8 mg/day) added to fenofibrate, and after 3 days of dexamethasone added to placebo (dexamethasone alone).

Hypoglycemia and the sympathoadrenal system: neurogenic symptoms are largely the result of sympathetic neural, rather than adrenomedullary, activation.

The relative contributions of the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal medullae, the two components of the sympathoadrenal system, to the manifestations of hypoglycemia are largely unknown. We tested the hypothesis that the neurogenic symptoms of hypoglycemia are largely the result of sympathetic neural activation. To do so, we quantitated neurogenic symptoms, as well as norepinephrine (NE) kinetics and selected hemodynamic changes, during hyperinsulinemic euglycemic and stepped hypoglycemic clamps in 15 healthy control subjects (Controls) and four bilaterally adrenalectomized patients (ADX).