Does enough quality of life-related discussion occur during dermatology outpatient consultations?
BACKGROUND
Dermatologists' assessments of how their patients' lives are affected by the skin disease are of importance for informing clinical decisions. However, there is no information about how often quality of life (QoL) issues are discussed in outpatient consultations.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between the extent of QoL-related discussion during dermatology outpatient consultations, and the current impact of the disease on patients' lives.


METHODS
A total of 238 consultations were observed in a teaching dermatology outpatient department for QoL-related discussion initiated by either the clinician or the patient. Following the consultation, all patients were posted a Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire to complete and return within 1 week.


RESULTS
QoL discussion was absent in 40% of consultations. Consultants initiated the fewest QoL discussions with patients, and nurses the most (P < 0.0001). One hundred and twenty-eight (54%) patients returned the DLQI, 114 (48%) of which were evaluable. The mean score was 5.6, SD +/- 6.6, median 3, range 0-29. The mean DLQI score for the patients with whom there was no QoL discussion was 4.0 +/- 4.7, n = 55, compared with the mean DLQI score for patients with whom QoL was discussed 6.8 +/- 7.2, n = 59 (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that little information concerning QoL is elicited during dermatology outpatient consultations.
David
S E
SE
Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University, Centre for Socio-Economic Research, Cardiff CF10 3XF, UK.
Ahmed
Z
Z
Salek
M S
MS
Finlay
A Y
AY
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014852:Wales