Computer-assisted questionnaires may facilitate collection of quality-of-life (QOL) data: At a cost

Quality-of-life (QOL) measurement is becoming increasingly important in oncology clinics. QOL questionnaires were mostly designed for use in clinical trials, and therefore focus on group measurement, inevitably omitting some details or domains that may be relevant to the individual patient. Computers can assist in the delivery of QOL questionnaires by presenting questions and by modifying subsequent questions. This study attempted to evaluate the use of computer-assisted (CA-) questionnaires for collection of QOL data from oncology patients. A total of 88 patients completed a standard questionnaire, the EORTC QLQ-C30, and a computer-assisted version of the standard questionnaire on the same day. Both questionnaires were presented on a portable touchscreen computer. The CA-questionnaire allowed patients to pre-select domains from the standard questionnaire, and omit those which patients felt were irrelevant. Responses from both questionnaires were recorded, as well as exact and global agreement and time taken to complete the questionnaires. Although the time taken on CA-questionnaire was almost half that on the standard questionnaire, the levels of overall and exact agreement were relatively low. In general, patients reported lower levels of functioning and higher levels of symptoms on the standard questionnaire than CA-questionnaire. Computer-assisted questionnaires may provide a brief snapshot of patients’ QOL, however, some accuracy may be lost.