MobQoL: Outcome measure development
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mobility and Quality of Life: Developing a patient reported outcome measure for mobility-related quality of life
IRAS ID
210756
Contact name
Nathan Bray
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bangor University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Mobility impairments are one of the most common causes of disability in the UK. The NHS supplies over a million wheelchairs and performs 160,000 hip/knee replacements every year. More evidence is needed to understand the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different mobility aids and treatments.
NHS resources for healthcare are limited, therefore evidence is needed to help decide which treatments and services to prioritise. One way to do this is to measure cost-effectiveness. When conducting cost-effectiveness analysis the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends an outcome measurement known as the quality-adjusted life year (QALY). A QALY is calculated by multiplying the amount of time spent in a health state by the associated quality of life of that health state. QALYs are universal because both quantity and quality of life are measured; therefore they can be compared across lots of different conditions and treatments.
Specially designed quality of life questionnaires are needed to calculate QALYs. These questionnaire tools are usually generic and therefore lack sensitivity in certain patient groups, such as people with disabilities. At present there are no mobility-related quality of life questionnaires which can be used to calculate QALYs.
The aim of this project is to develop a questionnaire tool to specifically assess quality of life related to mobility, and which is suitable for QALY calculation. This will help researchers and medical professionals to understand how mobility aids and treatments improve the quality of life of people with mobility impairments. This project will involve interviewing people with and without mobility impairments to understand how mobility affects quality of life. We will then analyse their responses and develop a questionnaire based outcome measure.
The development of a mobility-related quality of life measure suitable for QALY calculations could help to improve health service efficiency and service user outcomes.
REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
17/WA/0072
Date of REC Opinion
17 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion