Kidney patients' views on questionnaires: a think-aloud study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Kidney patients' views on quality of life questionnaires: a think-aloud study
IRAS ID
208086
Contact name
Paul M Mitchell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bristol
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 12 days
Research summary
A number of different self-complete quality of life questionnaires, have been developed to assess patient benefit from different health and social care interventions for use in economic studies. Such economic assessments help the NHS decide what interventions should be provided based on the limited health care budget it receives from the Government. Traditionally, questionnaires have focused on health related aspects of quality of life, with the commonly used EQ-5D measure asking questions relating to mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression.
The newly developed ICECAP capability questionnaires for the general adult (ICECAP-A) and older populations (ICECAP-O) instead attempt to measure the capability to be and do things in life that are valuable to them, such as the ability to have attachment with family and friends, independence, and enjoyment and pleasure in life. Shifting from measuring health related benefits to more general wellbeing could have important resource implications when assessing the cost-effectiveness of health and social care interventions. Little is known on the comparative performance of these three questionnaires in a patient population.
This study will comparatively test these measures in kidney patients using the think-aloud technique. Participants will be recruited through The Richard Bright Renal Unit at Southmead Hospital Bristol. Participants who meet the inclusion criteria and consent to participate will be asked to verbalise their thoughts whilst completing the questionnaires and these thoughts will be tape recorded and transcribed. Transcripts will then be assessed in detail to look for errors or problems in the completion of the measures. Patients will also be asked for their views on which questionnaire they think is best at measuring their quality of life, what they like and dislike about the different questionnaires, and whether there are other important aspects of quality of life not captured by the three questionnaires tested here.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0331
Date of REC Opinion
3 Oct 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion