Does enough quality of life-related discussion occur during dermatology outpatient consultations?

David, S. E., Ahmed, Zahra, Salek, M. S. and Finlay, Andrew Yule ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2143-1646 2005. Does enough quality of life-related discussion occur during dermatology outpatient consultations? British Journal of Dermatology 153 (5) , pp. 997-1000. 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2005.06876.x

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dermatologists' assessments of how their patients' lives are affected by the skin disease are of importance for informing clinical decisions. However, there is no information about how often quality of life (QoL) issues are discussed in outpatient consultations. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between the extent of QoL-related discussion during dermatology outpatient consultations, and the current impact of the disease on patients' lives. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 238 consultations were observed in a teaching dermatology outpatient department for QoL-related discussion initiated by either the clinician or the patient. Following the consultation, all patients were posted a Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire to complete and return within 1 week. RESULTS: QoL discussion was absent in 40% of consultations. Consultants initiated the fewest QoL discussions with patients, and nurses the most (P < 0.0001). One hundred and twenty-eight (54%) patients returned the DLQI, 114 (48%) of which were evaluable. The mean score was 5.6, SD +/- 6.6, median 3, range 0-29. The mean DLQI score for the patients with whom there was no QoL discussion was 4.0 +/- 4.7, n = 55, compared with the mean DLQI score for patients with whom QoL was discussed 6.8 +/- 7.2, n = 59 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that little information concerning QoL is elicited during dermatology outpatient consultations.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RZ Other systems of medicine
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN:	0007-0963
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2022 09:48
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/67828

Citation Data

Cited 35 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item