title: Survey of current functional outcomes assessment practices in patients with head and neck cancer: initial project of the head and neck research network.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Functional outcomes assessment has become increasingly important in informing treatment decisions in the area of head and neck cancer. However, consistency of assessment methods across studies has been lacking. For the literature to inform clinical decision making, consensus regarding outcomes measurements is necessary.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The Head and Neck Research Network (HNRN) was founded in January 2008 to become a conduit for high-quality research in the area of functional outcomes in patients with head and neck defects. The present study surveyed experts in functional outcomes assessment to determine what are considered the most important tools for assessing speech and swallowing and what background patient characteristics are important to capture.
  
  
  METHODS
  Respondents to the online survey included 54 participants with a background in speech-language pathology, with the majority of respondents from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results from the survey indicated that clinicians consider both subjective and objective measures as important to use when assessing function. More advanced technical tools were often rated as less important; however, it also was noted that clinicians were most often not able to access these tools or were unfamiliar with them.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, and Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine, Misericordia Community Hospital, Edmonton, AB. jana.rieger@ualberta.ca
authors.forename: Jana M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rieger
authors.forename: Judith A Lam
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seikaly
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wolfaardt
authors.forename: Ricarda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Glaum
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schmelzeisen
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buchbinder
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lazarus
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Markowitz
authors.forename: Devin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Okay
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Urken
authors.forename: Kalle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aitasalo
authors.forename: Risto-Pekka
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Happonen
authors.forename: Ilpo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kinnunen
authors.forename: Juhani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laine
authors.forename: Tero
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soukka
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology