Development of a questionnaire assessing health-related quality-of-life in dogs and cats with cancer

S. Lynch, K. Savary-Bataille, B. Leeuw, D.J. Argyle

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) has been studied extensively in human medicine. There is currently no standard HRQoL evaluation for veterinary oncology patients. The aim of this study was to assess the practicality, usefulness and robustness, from a pet owner and clinician perspective, of a questionnaire for the assessment of HRQoL in canine and feline cancer patients. A HRQoL assessment entitled 'Cancer Treatment Form' and two questionnaires entitled 'Owner Minitest' and 'Clinician Minitest' were designed. The first and second were completed by owners of patients presenting to a veterinary oncology referral service and the third by attending clinicians. The 'Cancer Treatment Form' was well received by owners and clinicians and provided a valuable assessment of HRQoL with 98% (82/84) of owners reporting an accurate reflection of their pet's quality-of-life. Following this, minor improvements to the form could be suggested prior to regular use in evaluation of clinical oncology patients.
Original languageUndefined/Unknown
Pages (from-to)172-182
Number of pages11
JournalVeterinary and Comparative Oncology
Volume9
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011

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