Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Development of a questionnaire assessing health-related quality-of-life in dogs and cats with cancer.
- Journal:
- Veterinary and comparative oncology
- Year:
- 2011
- Authors:
- Lynch, S et al.
- Affiliation:
- Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies · United Kingdom
Plain-English summary
Researchers have created a new questionnaire to help assess the quality of life for dogs and cats with cancer. This tool, called the "Cancer Treatment Form," was tested with pet owners and veterinarians to see how well it worked. Most pet owners (98%) felt that the questionnaire accurately reflected their pet's well-being. The study suggests that with a few small adjustments, this form could be used regularly to evaluate pets undergoing cancer treatment. Overall, the questionnaire was well-received and shows promise for helping to understand the quality of life in pets with cancer.
Abstract
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.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21848620/