Advances in measuring quality-of-life outcomes in cancer care.
OBJECTIVE
To provide practical guidance for the selection and use of quality-of-life (QOL) instruments for research and clinical practice.


METHODS
Published articles, books, and web resources.


CONCLUSIONS
Even among instruments designed specifically to measure QOIL, there are vast differences in what they actually measure. The choice of instrument can make the difference between whether real changes in QOL are captured or not.


CONCLUSIONS
QOL outcomes are ideal for determining the efficacy and impact of cancer care. Incorporating QOL into standard clinical practice holds great promise for improving communication with health care providers, with a resultant improvement in patient outcomes.
Center of Excellence in Eliminating Health Disparities, Department of Biobehavioral Health Science, College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. cferrans@uic.edu
Carol Estwing
CE
Ferrans
D001294:Attitude to Health; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires