Abstract
The management of women presenting to primary care with symptoms of breast disease is of increasing interest given recent organisational changes aimed at improving accuracy and speed of referrals. As part of a randomised controlled trial, 1063 women were recruited following a primary care consultation for a variety of breast-related problems. In the absence of a suitable outcome measure for such women, a site-specific instrument was developed to complement a generic quality of life scale (SF-36). Items were generated using key informant interviews with health professionals. Draft scale items were piloted using a postal questionnaire and subsequent patient debrief interviews. A sample of respondents were also sent the same questionnaire 1month later to assess test–retest reliability. Across the whole sample (n = 848), three factors were identified: ‘general well-being’, ‘concerns’ and ‘relationships’. These factors accounted for 60% of total variance. Evidence of scale validity, reliability and responsiveness are reported for this new outcome measure for use in women presenting with breast problems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
The BRIDGE study group. The presentation and management of breast symptoms in general practice in South Wales-The Bridge Study. Brit J Gen Pract 1999; 49: 811–812.
Austoker J, Mansel R, Baum M, Sainsbury R, Hobbs R. Guidelines for the Referral of Patients with Breast Problems. 1st ed. Sheffield: NHS Breast Screening Programme, 1995.
Thorsen T, Makela M. Changing Professional Practice. Copenhagen: Danish Institute for Health Services Research, 1999.
Fitzpatrick R, Davey C, Buxton MJ, Jones D. Patient-assessed outcome measures. In: Black N, Brazier J, Fitzpatrick R, Reeves B (eds), Health Services Research Methods, London: BMJ Books, 1998: 13–22.
Guyatt GH, Feeny DH Patrick DL. Issues in quality of life measurement in clinical trials. Control Clin Trials 1991; 12: 81S-90S.
Streiner DL, Norman GR. Health measurement scales: A practical guide to their development and use. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Ware JE, Snow KK, Kosinski M, Gandek B. SF-36 Health Survey: Manual and Interpretation Guide. Boston: New England Medical Center, 1993.
Schipper H, Clinch J, Olweny C. Quality of life studies: Definitions and conceptual issues. In: Spilker B (ed), Quality of Life and Pharmacoeconomics in Clinical Trials. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven, 1996: 11–23.
Carlsson M, Hamrin E. Measurement of quality of life in women with breast cancer. Development of a life satisfaction questionnaire (LSQ-32) and a comparison with the EORTC QLQ-C30. Qual Life Res 1996; 5: 265–274.
Brady MJ, Cella DF, Mo F, et al. Reliability and validity of the functional assessment of cancer therapy-breast quality of life instrument. J Clin Oncol 1997; 15: 974–986
Garratt AM, Ruta DA, Russell I, et al. Developing a condition-specific measure of health for patients with dyspepsia and ulcer-related symptoms. J Clin Epidemiol 1996; 49: 565–571.
Patton MQ. Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications, 1990.
Peters TJ, Somerset M, Baxter K, Wilkinson C. Anxiety amongst women with mild dyskaryosis: A randomised trial of an educational intervention. Brit J Gen Pract 1999; 49: 348–352.
Hair JF, Anderson RE, Tatham RL, Black WC. Multivariate Data Analysis. 5th ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
Guyatt G, Walter S, Norman G. Measuring change over time: Assessing the usefulness of evaluative instruments. J Chron Dis 1987; 40: 171–178.
Perneger TV, Etter J-F, Rougemont A. Prospective versus retrospective measurement of change in health status: A community based study in Geneva, Switzerland. J Epidemiol Commun H 1997; 51: 320–325.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Robling, M., Matthews, S., Hood, K. et al. The development of a new site-specific measure of quality of life for breast problems: The Cardiff breast scales. Qual Life Res 11, 339–348 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015595627501
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015595627501