caa a22 4500 477084613 CHVBK 20180405111500.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170330e19960201xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/BF00435970 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/BF00435970 Comparison of conditional quality of life terminology and visual analogue scale measurements [Elektronische Daten] [S. Grunberg, S. Groshen, S. Steingass, S. Zaretsky, B. Meyerowitz] Two common formats for grading quality of life parameters are descriptive choices (mild, moderate, severe) and visual analogue scales. However the quantitative relationship between descriptive terminology and visual analogue scale scores has not been determined. A content neutral questionnaire was administered to 213 evaluable subjects who were asked to place the descriptors ‘mildly', ‘moderately', and ‘severely' (presented in random order) on 100mm visual analogue scales. Visual analogue scales were presented without and then with hashmarks at 25mm, 50mm, and 75mm. Median visual analogue scale values for the descriptive terms differed significantly without hashmarks (‘mildly'=24mm', ‘moderately'=43mm, ‘severely'=84mm; p<0.001) and also with hashmarks (‘mildly'=31mm, ‘moderately'=49mm, ‘severely'=85mm; p<0.001). Comparison of interquartile range values (25th-75th percentile) revealed a distinct meaning for ‘severely' (68-93mm) but marked overlap between ‘mildly' (10-45mm) and ‘moderately' (22-53mm). Errors of order (order other than ‘mildly' < ‘moderately' < ‘severely') were made by 91 subjects. The discrepancy ‘moderately' < ‘mildly' accounted for most of these errors (72 subjects). Median values for ‘mildly', ‘moderately', and ‘severely' are distinct and approximately linear on a visual analogue scale for large populations. However there is significant confusion between the terms ‘mildly' and ‘moderately' for individual subjects. Visual analogue scales can reveal finer quantitative differences than descriptive terms but require a significant time commitment for instruction and administration. Descriptive terms on a word-graphic scale or descriptive terms with numerical values to reenforce order of severity (0=absent, 1=‘mildly', 2=‘moderately', 3=‘severely') may be reasonable alternatives. Rapid Science Publishers, 1996 Quality of life nationallicence visual analogue scale nationallicence terminology nationallicence Grunberg S. Division of Medical Oncology, University of Southern California Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut Groshen S. Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut Steingass S. Nursing Service, University of Southern California Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut Zaretsky S. Nursing Service, University of Southern California Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut Meyerowitz B. Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut Quality of Life Research Kluwer Academic Publishers 5/1(1996-02-01), 65-72 0962-9343 5:1<65 1996 5 11136 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00435970 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00435970 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Grunberg S. Division of Medical Oncology, University of Southern California Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Groshen S. Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Steingass S. Nursing Service, University of Southern California Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Zaretsky S. Nursing Service, University of Southern California Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Meyerowitz B. Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Quality of Life Research Kluwer Academic Publishers 5/1(1996-02-01), 65-72 0962-9343 5:1<65 1996 5 11136 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer