Touch-Screen Computerized Quality-of-Life Assessment for Patients with Cancer

PurposeTo evaluate a computerized self-reported, touch-screen version of the cancer-specific quality-of- life (cC-QOL) questionnaire against the traditional paper-and-pencil version (the pC-QOL) for equivalence, time for completion, user preference and ease of use.MethodsOne hundred and five patients were recruited from a cancer center of a university hospital in South Korea. A randomized crossover design was used, with patients randomly assigned into two groups. Group A patients completed the cC-QOL first while waiting to see a physician, and completed the pC-QOL version of the questionnaire after seeing the physician. Group B patients completed these questionnaires in the reverse order. Subjects were asked about user preference and ease of use. Time taken to complete both versions was measured.ResultsWeighted kappa coefficients of items showed very good to moderate agreement. The time required to complete the cC-QOL did not differ statistically from the pC-QOL. The same proportion of patients preferred both versions. Most patients (94.8%) reported that the cC-QOL was “easy” or “very easy” to complete.ConclusionThe cC-QOL is the computerized equivalent of the pC-QOL, which is used to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of cancer patients. The cC-QOL can be helpful to oncology nurses and physicians for assessing, collecting, and evaluating their patients' HRQOL scores in busy clinical practices. [Asian Nursing Research 2009;3(1):41–48]