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Understanding research about quality of life and other health outcomes
1Dermatology Service, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Department of Dermatology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Background:
Papers reporting studies of health outcomes, particularly patients' perceptions, are becoming more common. Understanding the characteristics of tools used to measure these health outcomes is important for interpreting these studies accurately and applying them to clinical care.
Objective:
The purpose of this article is to describe important features of the measurement of patient-perceived health outcomes, and to illustrate how a consideration of these features can help in applying study results to individual patients.
Conclusion:
Understanding the principles of measurement is particularly important for interpreting studies of dermatological care, in which patients' perceptions are a crucial outcome.