Table 2 Attitudes towards HRQOL assessment
From: Assessing health-related quality of life in urology – a survey of 4500 German urologists
Clinical Importance | Not important | Important | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Absolutely not important | Slightly important | Fairly important | Very important | More or less important | ||
Is HRQOL assessment important for clinical work? | % (N) | 0.3 (5) | 2.0 (29) | 44.8 (659) | 41.7 (614) | 11.2 (165) [9.6–12.8] |
%∑ | 2.3 [1.5–3.1] | 86.5 [84.7–88.3] | ||||
Perception of HRQOL | Disagree | Agree | ||||
Absolutely disagree | Slightly disagree | Fairly agree | Absolutely agree | Cannot estimate | ||
To me HRQOL is a vague term. | % (N) | 0.6 (9) | 5.4 (84) | 29.2 (453) | 64.0 (992) | 0.7 (11) [0.3–1.1] |
%∑ | 6.0 [4.8–7.2] | 93.3 [92.1–94.5] | ||||
The difference between HRQOL assessment and symptom rating is not apparent. | % (N) | 55.1 (849) | 32.4 (499) | 8.0 (123) | 2.7 (42) | 1.9 (29) [1.2–2.6] |
%∑ | 87.4 [85.7–89.1] | 10.7 [9.2–12.2] | ||||
I regard HRQOL assessment as not suitable for daily use. | % (N) | 15.7 (243) | 46.4 (717) | 28.1 (435) | 5.5 (85) | 4.3 (66) [3.3–5.3] |
%∑ | 62.1 [59.7–64.5] | 33.6 [31.2–36.0] | ||||
Integrity of HRQOL | ||||||
HRQOL assessments are valuable in patient consultations. | % (N) | 0.5 (8) | 3.3 (51) | 23.6 (366) | 71.2 (1.103) | 1.4 (22) [0.8–2.0] |
%∑ | 3.8 [2.8–4.8] | 94.8 [93.7–95.9] | ||||
HRQOL assessments are valuable in therapy follow-ups. | % (N) | 0.9 (14) | 2.8 (43) | 24.2 (375) | 71.2 (1.106) | 0.9 (14) [0.4–1.4] |
%∑ | 3.7 [2.8–4.6] | 95.4 [94.4–96.4] | ||||
Verbal HRQOL assessment is generally sufficient. | % (N) | 5.9 (92) | 37.7 (585) | 36.1 (559) | 19.1 (296) | 1.2 (18) [0.7–1.7] |
%∑ | 43.6 [41.1–46.1] | 55.2 [52.7–57.7] | ||||
Validated HRQOL instruments are useful for HRQOL assessment. | % (N) | 2.7 (42) | 21.7 (337) | 32.9 (511) | 39.5 (613) | 3.2 (50) [2.3–4.1] |
%∑ | 24.4 [22.3–26.5] | 72.4 [70.2–74.6] | ||||
Barriers for HRQOL assessment | ||||||
My patients do not accept HRQOL questionnaires. | % (N) | 36.0 (558) | 43.6 (675) | 10.0 (155) | 2.7 (41) | 7.7 (120) [6.4–9.0] |
%∑ | 79.6 [77.6–81.6] | 12.7 [11.0–14.4] | ||||
I prefer not to pay for HRQOL questionnaires. | % (N) | 5.0 (77) | 5.8 (90) | 13.1 (203) | 64.1 (989) | 12.0 (185) [10.4–13.6] |
%∑ | 10.8 [9.3–12.3] | 77.2 [75.1–79.3] | ||||
The effort is too extensive to assess HRQOL in clinical routine. | % (N) | 10.4 (161) | 37.7 (585) | 34.7 (538) | 16.2 (251) | 1.0 (16) [0.5–1.5] |
%∑ | 48.1 [45.6–50.6] | 50.9 [48.4–53.4] | ||||
HRQOL questionnaires are disadvantageous due to their length. | % (N) | 4.2 (66) | 23.5 (363) | 36.8 (569) | 15.5 (240) | 20.0 (309) [18.0–22.0] |
%∑ | 27.7 [25.5–29.9] | 52.3 [49.8–54.8] | ||||
HRQOL questionnaires are disadvantageous due to the complexity of their interpretation. | % (N) | 5.2 (81) | 25.0 (386) | 34.2 (528) | 13.9 (214) | 21.7 (335) [19.6–23.8] |
%∑ | 30.2 [27.9–32.5] | 48.1 [45.6–50.6] | ||||
I am not sufficiently trained to assess HRQOL. | % (N) | 39.7 (617) | 46.5 (722) | 9.6 (149) | 1.9 (29) | 2.3 (36) [1.6–3.0] |
%∑ | 86.2 [84.5–87.9] | 11.5 [9.9–13.1] | ||||
I cannot invoice HRQOL assessment due to a missing number in the medical-fee schedule. | % (N) | 6.9 (105) | 5.5 (84) | 8.0 (122) | 40.7 (619) | 38.9 (593) [36.5–41.3] |
%∑ | 12.4 [10.7–14.1] | 48.7 [46.2–51.2] | ||||