Launch of the new EORTC Item Library

The EORTC Quality of Life Group announces the launch of its new Item Library, which is an interactive online platform comprised of more than 900 items developed and validated for use in EORTC core questionnaires and modules. The Item Library will not only facilitate the development of new EORTC measures but, for the first time, will also provide users with tools to create custom-made ad hoc item lists, to be used in conjunction with the standard core questionnaires and modules. Users will be able to browse through existing measures (including other custom-made item lists) and search for items that meet the needs of their research questions in order to design their own item list of trial related questions.

In a rapidly evolving field in which new treatments are increasingly available and investigated, the Item Library will allow researchers and clinicians to capture symptoms and adverse events that may not otherwise be covered by existing EORTC questionnaires and modules. With patients’ well-being and health-related quality of life as our primary focus, the Item Library aims to respond to the needs of an ever-changing environment by allowing users to create item lists which can be tailored to the properties of new treatments and protocols, providing patients with the opportunity to report on their experiences in a meaningful way. Dr. Mogens Grønvold, Professor of Palliative Care and Quality of Life Assessment (University of Copenhagen and Bispebjerg Hospital, Denmark), has been involved in the development of the EORTC Quality of Life Group’s new strategy and is very excited about the release of the Item Library to the public: “In the EORTC Quality of Life Group we have spent more than 30 years developing validated questionnaires. The new EORTC Item Library will give researchers all over the world new opportunities for adding items lists to EORTC instruments. This is a remarkable and exciting step forward that will allow a better evaluation of cancer patients’ quality of life.”

The new EORTC Quality of Life Group’s strategy, of which the Item Library is a corner stone, will be presented at the ISPOR Europe meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday, 8^th November 2017. The poster is also available on-line.

The Item Library can now be accessed.

Kuliś D, Bottomley A, Whittaker C, van de Poll-Franse LV, Darlington A, Holzner B, Koller M, Reijneveld J, Tomaszewski K, Grønvold M. The Use of the EORTC Item Library to Supplement EORTC Quality of Life Instruments. The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 20^th Annual European Congress; 2017 Nov 4-8; Glasgow, Scotland.