Patient Responses to the Term Pain Catastrophizing: Thematic Analysis of Cross-sectional International Data.

Pain catastrophizing is understood as a negative cognitive and emotional response to pain. Researchers, advocates and patients have reported stigmatizing effects of the term in clinical settings and the media. We conducted an international study to investigate patient perspectives on the term pain catastrophizing.

Linking scores on the 4- and 5-item versions of the Satisfaction with Life Scale in people with traumatic brain, spinal cord, or burn injury: a National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Model System study.

Background: The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a widely used measure of subjective well-being. Recent evidence indicates the fifth item of the scale reduces the reliability of the scale and is inappropriate for use in traumatic injury populations. The purpose of this study was to develop a linking procedure between the five-item version of the SWLS and a modified four-item version, which removes the problematic item, for use in Spinal Cord (SCI), Traumatic Brain (TBI), and Burn Injury populations.

Evaluation of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Burn Survivors Undergoing Reconstructive Surgery in the Rehabilitative Period.

Background: Health-related quality of life is decreased in burn survivors, with scars implicated as a cause. The authors aim to characterize the use of reconstructive surgery following hospitalization and determine whether patient-reported outcomes change over time. The authors hypothesized improvement in health-related quality of life following reconstructive surgery.

New measures to capture end of life concerns in Huntington disease: Meaning and Purpose and Concern with Death and Dying from HDQLIFE (a patient-reported outcomes measurement system).

Purpose: Huntington disease (HD) is an incurable terminal disease. Thus, end of life (EOL) concerns are common in these individuals. A quantitative measure of EOL concerns in HD would enable a better understanding of how these concerns impact health-related quality of life.

The development of a new computer adaptive test to evaluate chorea in Huntington disease: HDQLIFE Chorea.

Purpose: Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease associated with motor, behavioral, and cognitive deficits. The hallmark symptom of HD, chorea, is often the focus of HD clinical trials. Unfortunately, there are no self-reported measures of chorea.

HDQLIFE: the development of two new computer adaptive tests for use in Huntington disease, Speech Difficulties, and Swallowing Difficulties.

Purpose: Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease which results in several progressive symptoms, including bulbar dysfunction (i.e., speech and swallowing difficulties).

Dutch-Flemish translation of nine pediatric item banks from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)®.

Purpose: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS(®)) is a new, state-of-the-art assessment system for measuring patient-reported health and well-being of adults and children. It has the potential to be more valid, reliable, and responsive than existing PROMs. The items banks are designed to be self-reported and completed by children aged 8-18 years.

Route of hysterectomy influence and teaching hospital status.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether teaching hospitals are more likely to perform abdominal (laparotomy) compared with nonabdominal (vaginal, laparoscopic) hysterectomies for benign indications.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational study comparing abdominal and nonabdominal inpatient hysterectomies performed in Illinois between 2000 and 2005 using the COMPdata database. Obvious cancer, prolapse, or indicated-abdominal surgeries (infection and pregnancy-related cases) were excluded.

Measuring stigma across neurological conditions: the development of the stigma scale for chronic illness (SSCI).

Purpose: Most measures of stigma are illness specific and do not allow for comparisons across conditions. As part of a study of health-related quality of life for people with neurological disorders, our team developed an instrument to assess the stigma for people with chronic illnesses.

Methods: We based item content on literature review, responses from focus groups, and cognitive interviews.

Bilingual health literacy assessment using the Talking Touchscreen/la Pantalla Parlanchina: Development and pilot testing.

Objective: Current health literacy measures are too long, imprecise, or have questionable equivalence of English and Spanish versions. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and pilot testing of a new bilingual computer-based health literacy assessment tool.

Methods: We analyzed literacy data from three large studies.

A Comparison of the Renal Cell Carcinoma-Symptom Index (RCC-SI) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Kidney Symptom Index (FKSI).

The development and validation of measures that provide disease-specific, patient-reported outcomes have become increasingly relevant in the care of cancer patients, especially for assessing symptoms from the patient's perspective. Recently, two patient symptom questionnaires were developed for kidney cancer patients, the Renal Cell Carcinoma-Symptom Index (RCC-SI) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Kidney Symptom Index (FKSI). This article describes the development of the revised FKSI scale (FKSI-19) and reconciles its use with the RCC-SI.

Quality of life predicts progression-free survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with sunitinib versus interferon alfa.

In a randomized phase III trial, sunitinib was associated with significantly superior progression-free survival when compared with interferon alfa as first-line therapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. This article investigates whether baseline quality of life and demographic and clinical variables were predictive for progression-free survival.

The effects of hormone replacement therapy on postmenopausal breast cancer biology and survival.

Background: The goal of this study was to compare the characteristics of breast cancers and survival rates in HRT users versus nonusers.

Methods: Data were analyzed for 1055 patients > or = 50 years of age who had definitive therapy for breast cancer from 1994 through 2002.

Results: There were 471 (45%) HRT users.

Rehabilitation consumers' use and understanding of quality information: a health literacy perspective.

Objectives: To explore consumers' use and understanding of quality information about postacute rehabilitation facilities.

Design: Thematic, semistructured interviews.

Setting: Two skilled nursing facilities and 2 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in a large Midwestern city.

Classical test theory and item response theory/Rasch model to assess differences between patient-reported fatigue using 7-day and 4-week recall periods.

Objective: This study compared self-reported fatigue between 7-day and 4-week time frames and explored factors that affect patients' responses.

Study Design And Setting: Two hundred and sixteen cancer patients completed either 7-day or 4-week version of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F). Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel statistics and Cochran-Armitage trend tests were used to assess the association between time frame and item scores.

Reliability across studies from the functional assessment of cancer therapy-general (FACT-G) and its subscales: a reliability generalization.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a reliability generalization of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and its subscales to examine variation in score reliability across all published studies.

Methods: We reviewed 344 publications based on predetermined criteria. About 78 published studies reported Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficients from their study in which data were collected.

Stigma in the workplace: employer attitudes about people with HIV in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Chicago.

Studies of HIV stigma in China are becoming more prevalent, but these studies have seldom involved direct cross-cultural comparisons. Moreover, although researchers consider employers to be a key power group whose practices can significantly impact the adjustment and recovery of people with HIV, the attitudes of employers in China towards people with HIV have rarely been studied. The present study sought to investigate employers' attitudes and hiring practices towards people with HIV across three culturally and linguistically distinct cities: Chicago, Beijing, and Hong Kong.

Predictors of health-related quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer.

Background: Most studies that have identified variables associated with the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of patients with colorectal cancer have been cross-sectional or included patients with other diagnoses. The objectives of this study were to identify predictors of HRQL in patients with colorectal cancer and interpret the clinical importance of the results.

Methods: We conducted a population-based longitudinal study of patients identified through three regions of the California Cancer Registry.

Resident response to integration of simulation-based education into emergency medicine conference.

Objectives: Utilization of simulation-based training has become increasingly prevalent in residency training. The authors compared emergency medicine (EM) resident feedback for simulation sessions to traditional lectures from an EM residency didactic program.

Methods: The authors performed a retrospective review of all written EM conference evaluations over a 29-month period.

Quality of life in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with sunitinib or interferon alfa: results from a phase III randomized trial.

Purpose: In an international, randomized phase III trial, sunitinib demonstrated statistically significant efficacy over interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) as first-line therapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) (progression-free survival time, 11 v 5 months, respectively; P < .001; objective response rate, 31% v 6%, respectively; P < .001).

Estimating clinically meaningful changes for the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy--Prostate: results from a clinical trial of patients with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

Objective: To determine clinically meaningful changes (CMCs) for the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P).

Methods: We obtained data from a Phase III trial of atrasentan in metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients (n = 809). We determined anchor-based differences using Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), hemoglobin, time to disease progression (TTP), adverse events (AE), and survival.

Development of a fatigue and functional impact scale in anemic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Background: This study was conducted to develop a brief measure of fatigue and functional impact in cancer patients with anemia.

Methods: Data were obtained from a multisite, phase 2 study of darbepoetin-alpha (n = 1,558). Eligible patients were >or=18 years with nonmyeloid malignancies and anemia (hemoglobin View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sensitivity of the informant questionnaire on cognitive decline: an application of item response theory.

The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline (IQCODE) is a formal informant report instrument, originally developed by Jorm and Jacomb (1989; Psychological Medicine, 19(4), 1015). The goal of the present study was to evaluate the range of cognitive decline in which the IQCODE is most sensitive, using item response theory (IRT). Existing data (N = 740) from a sample of community-dwelling older adults was used for this purpose.

Fatigue is the most important symptom for advanced cancer patients who have had chemotherapy.

Cancer fatigue has been defined and described as an important problem. However, few studies have assessed the relative importance of fatigue compared with other patient symptoms and concerns. To explore this issue, the authors surveyed 534 patients and 91 physician experts from 5 NCCN member institutions and community support agencies.