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  • 1
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Sample sizes for randomized trials measuring quality of life in cancer patients (1997)
    Springer
    Quality of life research 6 (1997), S. 0-0 
    Details
    ISSN: 1573-2649
    Keywords: Anticipated effect size ; ; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) ; quality of life ; randomized trials ; sample size ; small cell lung cancer
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract This paper describes the methods appropriate for calculating sample sizes for clinical trials assessing quality of life (QOL). An example from a randomized trial of patients with small cell lung cancer completing the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is used for illustration. Sample size estimates calculated assuming that the data are either of the Normal form or binary are compared to estimates derived using an ordered categorical approach. In our example, since the data are very skewed, the Normal and binary approaches are shown to be unsatisfactory: binary methods may lead to substantial over estimates of sample size and Normal methods take no account of the asymmetric nature of the distribution. When summarizing normative data for QOL scores the frequency distributions should always be given so that one can assess if non-parametric methods should be used for sample size calculations and analysis. Further work is needed to discover what changes in QOL scores represent clinical importance for health technology interventions.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1026481815304
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    Paper (German National Licenses)
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  • 2
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Randomized trials with quality of life endpoints: Are doctors' ratings of patients' physical symptoms interchangeable with patients' self-ratings? (1997)
    Springer
    Quality of life research 6 (1997), S. 0-0 
    Details
    ISSN: 1573-2649
    Keywords: Quality of life ; randomized trials ; symptoms
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The assessment of physical symptoms is a key com-ponent of quality of life studies in palliative care, but is often hampered by missing data from patient-completed questionnaires. In two large multicentre randomized trials of palliative treatment conducted by the Medical Research Council Lung Cancer Working Party, involving over 700 patients, patients completed Rotterdam Symptom Checklists and doctors reported on eleven of the same physical symptoms at each assessment, using the same 4-point severity scale. Ratings by doctors and patients were compared with respect to compliance, severity, and outcomes for the respective trials. Doctors provided more data than patients: 66% vs. 52%in the first 6 months in one trial, 68% vs. 61% in the other. Comparisons of over 33,000 symptom assessments showed 78% complete agreement between doctor and patient, 18% disagreement by one, 4% two, and 1% three grades (complete disagreement). There was no change in levels of agreement over time, but increasing disagreement with increasing symptom severity, and a consistent bias towards doctors underestimating severity. Nevertheless, the two methods of data collection resulted in similar between-treatment conclusions. Therefore, in randomized trials the doctors' assessments of key physical symptoms may be sufficient for the between-treatment comparison. However, the fact that doctors underestimate symptom severity 15% of the time has important implications for palliative interventions.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1026458604826
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    Paper (German National Licenses)
    Fulltext
  • 3
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Quality of life of Danish women: Population-based norms for the EORTC QLQ-C30 (1997)
    Springer
    Quality of life research 6 (1997), S. 0-0 
    Details
    ISSN: 1573-2649
    Keywords: EORTC-QLQ-C30 ; breast cancer ; gynaecological cancer ; norms
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The aim of this study was to derive population-based norms for women completing the EORTC QLQ-C30 version 1 which is designed for use with patients who have cancer. The study was conducted using two different questionnaires: one designed for use in female patients with breast cancer, the other for those with gynaecological cancers, but both including the EORTC QLQ-C30. The women were drawn from the Danish Central Population Register without knowledge of their health status and divided at random between the two questionnaires. All procedures for collecting data were identical. The response rate for those receiving the gynaecological cancer (GS) questionnaire was 49% and it was 71% for the breast cancer (BS) questionnaire. Detailed comparison between the two samples revealed several EORTC QLQ-C30 items showing a clear difference in distribution of scores between them. Because of this and the possible bias due to the relative low age-related response rate in GS, only the results from the BS are used for constructing norms. The norms cover all 30 single items on the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the nine derived scales, for women in four 10-year age groups commencing at 30 years and for those aged 70-75. Clear trends in, for example, declining ability to undertake strenuous activity are illustrated and quantified. Levels of certain symptoms, such as pain, are surprisingly high although it is recognized that the population sampled will contain a proportion of women with active disease including cancer. We recommend the use of these norms both as an aid to the clinical assessment of an individual patient, and to assist in the interpretation of clinical trial and longitudinal quality of life data. As a secondary result, we note that a population-based sample will have a lower response rate to a questionnaire with more questions, especially if many of these extra questions are on sexual issues.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1026461310761
    Library Location Call Number Volume/Issue/Year Availability
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    Paper (German National Licenses)
    Fulltext
  • 4
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Virtual conferencing (1997)
    Springer
    BT technology journal 15 (1997), S. 120-129 
    Details
    ISSN: 1573-1995
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
    Notes: Abstract Current multi-party video- and audioconferencing systems limit natural communications between participants. People communicate by speech, facial expressions and body gestures. In interactions between three or more people, these communications channels are directed towards particular participants. Spatial proximity and gaze direction are therefore important elements for effective conversational interactions, and yet are largely unsupported in existing conferencing tools. Advanced audioconferencing systems do simulate presence in a shared environment by using ‘virtual humans’ to represent the people taking part in a meeting, but the keyboard and mouse are used to direct conversations to specific people or to change the visual representation to simulate emotion. This paper describes an experimental implementation of virtual conferencing, which uses machine vision to control a realistic virtual human, with the objective of making ‘virtual meetings’ more like physical ones. The computer vision system provides a more natural interface to the environment, while the realistic representation of users, with appropriate facial gestures and upper body movement, gives more natural visual feedback.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1018687630541
    Library Location Call Number Volume/Issue/Year Availability
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    Paper (German National Licenses)
    Fulltext
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