Organisation/institution: Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) at Bangor University
Key contact: Dr Nathan Bray, CHEME, Bangor University, n.bray@bangor.ac.uk
What was the question that we could help with?
In the UK over 11 million people live with an impairment, disability or limiting chronic illness; approximately 6% of children, 16% of working age adults and 45% of the elderly are classified as disabled. Mobility impairments are one of the most common causes of disability, and many disabled people require mobility aids, such as wheelchairs, to move around independently. The NHS is the largest supplier of mobility-aids in the UK, however more evidence is needed to understand which mobility-aids are the most cost-effective means of improving the mobility and quality of life of people with mobility impairments.
What did we do?
Dr Nathan Bray, Dr Llinos Haf Spencer, Dr Lorna Tuersley and Professor Rhiannon Tudor Edwards have developed a new patient-reported outcome measure for mobility-related quality of life, known as MobQoL. The MobQol covers a range of different aspects of quality of life which can be affected or influenced by mobility. The MobQoL tool is being developed as part of Nathan’s Health and Care Research Wales Fellowship. In the next stage of the project, the team will pilot the MobQoL tool and then develop a preference-based scoring system.
What is the expected impact?
Findings from this study will help the NHS to provide the best care possible to people with mobility impairments. Through our research we will develop the MobQoL outcome measure, test its accuracy and validity, and develop a preference-based scoring system for the measure. More information here: https://cheme.bangor.ac.uk/mobqol
Image: Dr Nathan Bray meeting with Baroness Campbell at the House of Commons
