BACKGROUND The 12-item Health Survey (SF-12) was developed as a shorter alternative to the SF-36 for use in large-scale studies, particularly when overall physical and mental health are the outcomes of interest instead of the typical eight-scale profile. The main purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the Greek version of the SF-12. METHODS A stratified representative sample (N =...

One of the most important and vexing issues in health care concerns the cost to improve quality. Unfortunately, quality is difficult to measure and potentially confounded with productivity. Rather than relying on clinical or process measures, we infer quality at hospitals in greater Los Angeles from the revealed preference of pneumonia patients. We then decompose the joint contribution of quali...

BACKGROUND Long-term survivors of Wilms tumor and neuroblastoma may experience significant late adverse effects from their disease and its therapy. Little is known, however, about the health-related quality of life experienced by these survivors. PROCEDURE Health-related quality of life, measured by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), was assessed from self-report in adult survivors...

Objective: To assess the different measure instruments used for patients with fi bromyalgia. Patients and methods: This study assessed 60 individuals participating in a clinical trial of cross-sectional cohort comparing the effects of exercises performed in water and on land. The following instruments were used: the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) to assess the impact of the disease; th...

CONTEXT It is unclear whether health-related quality of life (HRQL) is sustained in a long-term follow-up of morbidly obese patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Objective This study aims to analyze the HRQL changes following RYGB in short and long-term follow-up. METHODS We compared the health-related quality of life among three separate patient groups, using the Medical Ou...

HYPOTHESIS Long-term quality of life (QOL) in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) incurring bile duct injury (BDI) and repair is comparable to that of patients undergoing uncomplicated LC. DESIGN Case comparison study. SETTING Secondary and tertiary care centers. PATIENTS Eighty-six patients incurring BDI during LC between January 1, 1991, and July 31, 2003, were surveye...

BACKGROUND Health-related quality of life may affect morbidity and survival in end-stage renal disease, but it is not clear whether coexisting comorbidity and other known prognostic variables could account for such an association. METHODS To study the relationship between health-related quality of life and morbidity and survival, we carried out an inception cohort study in patients starting c...

Outcomes: Primary outcome was change in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) physical function score at 6 months. Other outcomes were Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scale pain score, Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey physical activity scale, and treatment success (≥ 8-point improvement in WOMAC physical function score without cross...