title: Incorporating quality of life and patient satisfaction measures into a transplant outcomes assessment program: technical and practical considerations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present an overview of methods for incorporating the measurement of health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction into a comprehensive outcomes assessment program in the organ transplantation setting. An introduction to basic psychometric concepts as they relate to survey instrument selection is presented, and the complementary nature of health status instruments and preference-based utility measures is discussed. The role of these concepts and measures in a transplant outcomes assessment and research program and the psychometric evidence for selected instruments are described.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptions of specific survey instruments were abstracted from published reports or manuals. Data describing the Vanderbilt Transplant Center Patient Satisfaction Inventory were derived from a single institution transplant outcomes research database.
  
  
  METHODS
  Previously reported research was selected from the literature to provide brief examples of basic concepts, which are not intended to be a comprehensive review of these topics. Illustrative data from the Vanderbilt program were extracted from a longitudinal database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data and published reports were synthesized for descriptive and illustrative purposes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review describes various types of health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction outcomes assessment tools and measurement methods; introduces considerations relevant to survey instrument selection and development; and outlines the evolution of and psychometric support for a transplant center-wide outcomes assessment and research program.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Irene D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Feurer
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: C Wright
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Pinson
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior; D003625:Data Collection; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D013714:Tennessee