Bilal Alkhaffaf: Healthcare professionals have a responsibility to ensure that resources are used effectively
Bilal Alkhaffaf,
“As healthcare professionals involved in research, we have a responsibility to ensure that resources (often provided by publically funded or charitable bodies) are used effectively so that research waste is minimised.
We know from our previous international collaborations in ‘core outcome set’ development that health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) is considered a critically important (core) outcome to measure for patients undergoing surgery for oesophageal and gastric cancer. It follows however, that to measure HR-QoL effectively, we must have the correct instruments to do so, and/or ensure that currently available tools are fit for purpose.
Lots of methodological research is currently being undertaken in this space; the most recent publication from our international EORTC – European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life group found that the current EORTC HR-QoL gastric module (QLQ-STO22) remains a valid instrument across different global regions. This is an important finding as we often need to compare outcomes from different regions.
Other exciting collaborations that we have been involved in at Salford Royal (Research and Innovation at Northern Care Alliance) include the work being led by Sheraz Markar (LASORS study) to develop a truncated HR-QoL measurement instruments which is less wieldy than current tools. Watch this space!”
Source: Bilal Alkhaffaf/LinkedIn