Studies
| Study Title: | Developing a Patient Reported Outcome Measure on Medication-related Quality of Life for Persons with Mobility Limitations: PROM-mQoL |
| Rationale: | Approximately 10% of the overall Canadian population has a mobility limitation which can affect their activities of daily living and overall quality of life (QoL). Among adults 65 years and older, the prevalence of mobility limitations is higher (20%-35%) and a significant risk factor for falls, hospitalization, and mortality. Prescription and non-prescription medications are commonly used to prevent and treat related chronic conditions and secondary complications. However, substantial medication use (known as polypharmacy) may increase and aggravate certain secondary complications such as fatigue, dizziness, pain, and digestion, further impacting health and well-being outcomes. The World Health Organization has identified ‘Medications without Harm’ as the third global patient safety challenge and has established priority approaches for improving medication safety such as patient reporting, patient engagement, and ongoing patient monitoring. There are no current patient reported tools to monitor the impact of medications on health and wellbeing for persons with mobility limitations. Specifically, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) capture important patient perspectives on the impact of medications, which inform ongoing assessments of treatment effectiveness. Systematically measuring how medication use influences QoL will contribute to safer care plans, improved shared decision-making between patients and healthcare providers, and the ability to evaluate the effects of medication-related interventions. |
| Study Description: | We will conduct item generation as the first step in developing a PROM that assesses medication-related QoL for persons with mobility limitations (PROM-mQoL). To generate items we will be using concept mapping methodology, which has 3 phases: 1) brainstorming - focus-group style statement generation answering the question. what matters to you about your medications in your everyday life? 2) sorting and rating - grouping and rating statements on how important and problematic they are, and 3) mapping - creating visual maps of the statements. Each of phase of the study will be conducted virtually over Zoom with study participants and will take between 1-2 hours. Study participants will be invited to participate in any and/or all of these phases. They will be compensated for each phase that they complete. |
| Starting Date: | 2022-08-09 |
| Ending Date: | 2022-12-01 |
| Who can participate: | We are seeking individuals from across Canada with mobility limitations who are taking medications. Individuals must be living in the community (i.e., not a long term care home) and speak English or French. |
| Trial Institution: | University of Toronto |
| Trial Investigator: | Dr. Sara Guilcher |
| Contact Information: | amanda.day@utoronto.ca |
| Trial Funding: | CIHR |