Objective To developapatient-reported outcomes scale of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease used for Chinese, thus offering tools for clinical efficacy assessment. Methods According to the development standard of International Patient-Reported Outcomes, the item pool was established and the preliminary scale was prepared. Then, 100 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 50 healthy subjects were face-to-face interviewed with preliminary scale by well-trained investigators.Those copies were collected, surveys were analyzed and items were selected with 5 methods including measure of discrete tendency method, factor analysis, correlation coefficient method, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient method and item response Theory. Finally, the final scale was gained. Results The eventual scale contains 4 areas(physiological dimain, psychological dimension, social dimension, treatment), 11 dimensions(specific symptoms, general symptoms, individual, anxiety, depression, disease cognization, disease influence on social pctivity, social support, compliance, drug adverse reaction, satisfactory), and 52 items. Conclusion The ultimate scale coincides with the theoretical framework and reflects the connotation of the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
ObjectiveTo categorize and describe stroke-patients based on factors related to patient reported outcomes. MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted among stroke-patients in nine hospitals and communities in Shanxi Province. The general information questionnaire and stroke-patient reported outcome manual (Stroke-PROM) were completed. Latent profile analysis was used to analyze the scores of Stroke-PROM, and the explicit variables of the model were the final scores of each dimension. ANOVA and correlation analysis were used to measure the correlation between the factors and subtypes. ResultsFour unique stroke-patient profiles emerged, including a low physiological and low social group (9%), a high physiological and middle social group (40%), a middle physiological and middle social group (26%), and a middle physiological and high social group (25%). There were significant differences in scores of four areas among patients with different subtypes (P<0.05). Moreover, there was a correlation between age, payment, exercise and subtypes (P<0.05). ConclusionThere are obvious grouping characteristics for stroke patients. It is necessary to focus on stroke patients who are advanced in age, have a self-funded status and lack exercise, and provide targeted nursing measures to improve their quality of life.
Patient reported outcome measures (PROM) are widely used in clinical research and practice. To aid the interpretation of PROM, researchers have proposed the minimal important difference (MID), the smallest change or difference that patients perceive as important. However, the estimation methods of MID are numerous and inconsistent, which brings difficulties to selecting the optimal MID estimate to interpret PROM results. To address this issue, a research team from McMaster University in Canada has proposed an approach for selecting the optimal MID. This method includes three core steps: evaluating the credibility of MID estimates, assessing the consistency among credible MID estimates, and selecting the optimal value based on contextual factors. The credibility evaluation instrument for anchor-based MID examines five core criteria, including the data sources of PROM and anchor, the interpretability of anchor, the correlation between anchor and PROM, the precision of MID estimates, and the judgment of anchor thresholds. When there are multiple credible MID estimates, the optimal MID estimate is selected by evaluating the consistency among the estimates and considering contextual factors that affect the variability among the estimates, such as the type of intervention, follow-up time, and disease severity. In addition, the team provided recommendations to improve the reporting quality of MID studies. This article provides a detailed introduction and interpretation of these developments, aiming to enhance researchers' and clinicians' understanding and application of MID, thereby supporting clinical research and healthcare decision-making.