Related Experiment Videos
Item response theory and health-related quality of life in cancer
Richard Gershon1, David Cella, Kelly Dineen
1Center on Outcomes, Research and Education, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, 2650 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA. gershon@northwestern.edu
Abstract:
Identifying health-related quality of life concerns is a priority when caring for people with cancer. Specific problem areas such as pain, fatigue, emotional distress, disease- and treatment-related symptoms, as well as physical functioning can be routinely assessed using applications that draw upon item response theory. Item response theory measurement models can improve on the classical approach to health-related quality of life assessment with advantages that include comparison of patients across diverse instruments, flexibility in degree of precision desired, availability of multiple short forms, interval measurement and capability for individual assessment (real-time clinical monitoring) using computerized adaptive testing. This review describes a model of health-related quality of life in oncology and the contribution of item response theory to assessment using that model.
Related Concept Videos
Cancer Survival Analysis
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
Dose-Response Relationship: Overview
Treatment Resistant Cancers
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Classification of Illness
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe and...