Quality and length of life, money and urethral stricture disease

This article walks through some of the ideas behind patient-reported outcome measurement and quality of life research against the backdrop of urethral stricture disease and conditions of the lower urinary tract more generally, why measurement matters at all, future areas for research and development and potential opportunities for misuse and manipulation.

It is the authors' opinion that only one published study has substantially advanced our understanding of the way men with urethral stricture disease manage this condition in the real world, and, in turn, the outcomes those men seek when they consent to surgery and its associated risks. There is, however, almost certainly greater acceptance now by reconstructive urologists of the utility of patient-reported outcome measures in audit; surgical performance evaluation; clinical research; and fair, logical and transparent healthcare resource allocation at a population level. This is evidenced by the recent proliferation of studies incorporating patient-reported outcomes, which appear today to be on parity at least with those that surgeons historically gave priority to.

The next frontier in urethral stricture disease outcomes research is a better understanding of the impact of this condition on men's daily lives. That level of insight is likely to be gained through a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research methods applied to collaborative research ventures with men with the condition who, as those that have the most to gain and lose, must be majority stakeholders in this process.