title: Do health-status measures play a role in improving treatment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?
abstract: During the past few decades, health status has become increasingly important in the clinical research of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The use of health-status questionnaires in routine practice can enhance understanding about the impact of the disease on the patient, improve standardisation and increase compliance through increased patient satisfaction. However, before health-status measurement in individual patients can be used in routine practice, questionnaires have to be validated on an individual level. In this article, the authors suggest a new method of assessing this individual validity, to enhance the use of health-status instruments in daily clinical practice, and thus improve treatment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
authors.affiliation: Primary Care Respiratory Medicine, Department of General Practice and Primairy Care, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: Thys
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: van der Molen
authors.forename: Jan Willem H
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kocks
mesh_terms: D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life