Session: MP54: Health Services Research: Practice Patterns, Quality of Life and Shared Decision Making III
MP54-09: Can remote administration of Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life (WISQOL) survey replace in-person health-related quality of life measures in the telemedicine era?
Introduction: The Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life questionnaire (WISQOL) is a validated, stone-specific measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Telemedicine has become integral to our healthcare system. Therefore, we compared the feasibility and reliability of assessing patients’ HRQOL remotely. Methods: WISQOL responses of patients from urology or stone prevention clinics between April 2020 and January 2022 were collected. Patients completed the WISQOL in clinic, via telephone, or by mail. We aimed for approximately 250 responses. Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach alpha coefficient; univariate analysis was used to compare responses. Results: Patients (n=270) completed the WISQOL in clinic (n=90), via telephone (n=90), and by mail (n=90). Mean time/telephone survey was 8.3±2.4 minutes. WISQOL completion time in person, measured in a prior study, was approximately 5 minutes. Demographics between groups were similar as was prevalence of symptomatic patients at WISQOL completion (32%, 37%, and 27% for clinic, telephone, and mail, respectively). Compared to asymptomatic patients, symptomatic patients reported worse HRQOL when surveyed by mail vs. telephone (45.1 vs 62.7 for total standardized WISQOL score, p<0.001) or in clinic (45.1 vs 56.5, p=0.025). WISQOL scores were not different between groups for asymptomatic patients (all p>0.05). Survey modality demonstrated consistency across measures (Cronbach alpha =0.972). Conclusions: WISQOL responses differed based on administration modality. Symptomatic patients were more likely to report worse HRQOL if completing the WISQOL by mail. However, modalities were internally consistent. Further investigation should examine response rates and survey completion time by administration modality, which may explain differences in responses. SOURCE OF Funding: N/A.
