Outcome Measures of Quality of Life for People With Chronic Wounds: A Scoping Review.

PURPOSE

The aim of this scoping review was to identify validated instruments measuring Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) used in research and clinical practice that are deigned to measure the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people with chronic wounds.

METHOD

Scoping literature review.

SEARCH STRATEGY

A search of the electronic databases MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus that spanned the years 1990 to April 2024 was conducted. The initial search resulted in 13 094 records. Removal of duplicates, title and abstract searches, and final selection of elements that were read in full yielded 30 records, along with 2 records identified from reference lists of critical articles.

FINDINGS

Twelve validated instruments measuring PROMs assessing HRQoL were identified; 6 were generic and 6 were specific to chronic wounds. The most frequently used generic instruments were the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire and the EuroQol-five Dimensions-Five levels; they were used in 6 (18.8%) and 3 (9.4%) studies, respectively. The Cardiff Wound Impact Schedule and the Wound-Qol were the most frequently wound-specific instruments; both were applied in 5 (15.6%) studies each. Both condition-specific and generic instruments measure 1 or more conceptual domains that cover the multidimensionality of HRQoL. Generic instruments allow comparison of persons with chronic wounds to populations with other chronic conditions and the general population; however, generic instruments may underestimate changes in QoL in populations with chronic wounds. Condition-specific instruments provide additional information about HRQoL and they are more likely to be responsive to the effects of specific interventions.

IMPLICATIONS

Research related to instruments that measure PROMs for HRQoL for patients with chronic wounds is limited. Additional research such as longitudinal and randomized studies are needed to strengthen the evidence regarding the applicability and dissemination of PROMS to assess HRQoL in this population.