Symposium (1): Data Analysis

Implications of Clinical Significance on Sample Size Estimation in QOL research
Speaker: Benny Chung-Ying Zee, PhD, Assistant Dean (Research), Faculty of Medicine, Director, Centre for Clinical Trials, Professor, School of Public Health, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Protocol development for HRQOL Clinical Trials
Speaker: Sehyun Kim, Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Pochon CHA University, Korea

Symposium (2): QOL Research Design and Statistics

Exploring Factors Affecting QOL ¡V Critique of Study Design and Statistical Analysis Method
Speaker: Ji-qian Fang, Director, School of Public Health, Sun Yat Sen University, Guangzhou, China

Improving QoL indicators: Applications of Rasch Measurement
Speaker: Trevor Grahame Bond, Professor and Head of Department, Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling and Learning Needs (EPCL), The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong SAR, China

Symposium (3): Measuring health and QOL in Chinese Medicine (Potunghua session)

An overview of Quality of Life Research on Chinese Medicine in Mainland China
Speaker: Feng-bin Liu, 1st Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou, University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China

Conceptualization and Measuring Health in Chinese Medicine: What ChQOL can offer?
Speaker: Li Zhao, Instructor, School of Chinese Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Development and Validation of an Instrument for the Measurement of Health-Related Quality of Life based on the Perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Speaker: Professor Wei-Chu Chie, Department of Public Health and Institute of Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taiwan

Symposium (4): QOL Research Design and Statistics

Analysis of Quality of Life Data
Speaker: Dr Rai Shesh, Associate member, Department of Biostatistics St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Mathematics, Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee. Adjunct Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

On the analysis of paired quality of life data: Changed or Not Changed
Speaker: Dr. Daniel Fong, Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing Studies, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Symposium (5): Translation & linguistic validation

Translating PRO measures: an update of the activities of the ISOQOL TCA SIG
Speaker: Catherine Acquadro, MD. Scientific Advisor, Mapi Research Institute, Lyon, France

Equivalence in Cross-cultural HRQOL Measures
Speaker: Cindy Lam, MD, Family Medicine Unit, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Symposium (6): Measurement and determinants of Happiness

Measuring Happiness - Current State-of-the-Art
Speaker: Sheng-tak Cheng, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Healthy Living, Active Aging - The Way to Achieve Quality of Life
Speaker: Professor S.H. Lee, Emeritus Professor of Community Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Symposium (7): Quality of Life in Rehabilitation

In Search of Happiness Inducing Occupations
Speaker: Kwok-fai Leung, MPhil, Department of Occupational therapy, queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China

Spirituality and Holistic Quality of Life: Promoting Happiness for People with Stress
Speaker: Cecilia L.W. Chan, Director, Centre on Behavioral Health; Professor, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Round Table Discussion (1): QOL research in Asia

Networking Roundtable: Strengthening QOL Research Across Asia
Convenor: Cindy Lam & Mona Martin
Discussants: Speaker from Asian countries

Round Table Discussion (2): Quality of life in Social Services

Quality of Life in Social Services in Hong Kong ¡V a critical review and the way ahead
Speaker: Alfred Chan, Professor, Department of Politics & Sociology, Lingnan University, Hong Kong SAR, China

Round Table discussion - Quality of Life in Community Care, Residential Care and Medical Social Service
Convenor: Alfred Chan
Discussants: (3 discussants)

Quality of life in dementia

Achieving a better quality of life for the people with dementia and their caregivers
Speaker: Mr. Schwinger Wong, Administration and Development Manager, Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing, Hong Kong SAR, China

Workshop 1 (1.5 hour)

Multilevel models with applications to repeated measures of QOL data
Presenter: Eric Ming-chun Wong, Statistician, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Content: Multilevel modeling has now become a popular technique in the analysis of longitudinal data. The workshop will provide the basic concept of multilevel modeling, but the emphasis will be on conceptual understanding and an appreciation of the technique. Application and interpretation of the technique in research on QOL will be demonstrated and discussed using examples from the literature. This workshop will be useful for those who are already familiar with ordinary regression models for continuous and discrete outcomes. Participants will learn to do straightforward multilevel analysis and interpret the results confidently, and the potential use of the technique in their own research. Participants are strongly encouraged to discuss their own datasets, and will have the opportunity to analyse the data with the help of the instructor.

Workshop 2 (1.5 hour)

Methodology of linguistic validation: how to overcome cultural differences
Presenter: Catherine Acquadro, MD. Scientific Advisor, Mapi Research Institute, Lyon, France

Workshop 3 (3 hour)

Comparison of different approaches for developing new HRQL instruments: qualitative; traditional psychometric; and modern item-response theory (IRT) - based methods
Presenter: Professor Peter Fayers, PhD. University of Aberdeen, UK

Target: Those interested in developing or modifying questionnaires for assessing health-related quality of life instruments. Some familiarity with the basic concepts of psychometric methods, such as factor analysis, is desirable but not essential.

Content: It is nowadays well recognised that developing a new HRQL questionnaire is a demanding task, involving the formal application of qualitative methods as well as psychometric / statistical analytical techniques, and involving patients and disease-related healthcare workers at all stages.

Generic-instruments such as the SF-36, or disease-specific instruments such as the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the FACT, are developed over many years by large multidisciplinary teams. Until recently, these teams tended to emphasise the use of qualitative methods for the early phases of instrument development, with traditional psychometric techniques such as Cronbach¡¦s ƒÑ and factor analysis dominating the later development phases. Some influential critics ¡V notably, Alvan Feinstein ¡V have commented that more attention should be given to clinical sensibility, in what he termed clinimetric methods, but this continues to be neglected by many of those following the ¡§standard¡¨ approaches. In this workshop we shall review the characteristics of the two fundamentally different approaches ¡V clinimetrics and psychometrics, as well as exploring the roles of qualitative versus quantitative (statistical) methods. The workshop will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of all these options, and will use examples from published literature to illustrate how the resultant instruments can vary according to the methodologies adopted.

More recently yet another paradigm has become prominent in HRQL research ¡V item response theory (IRT), sometimes described as ¡§modern psychometrics.¡¨ IRT is a methodology that has been highly developed in fields such as educational research, and there are a number of significant hurdles to be jumped when transferring it to a clinical environment. IRT leads to fundamentally different types of instruments from other approaches, and although it provides many attractive features ¡V including the opportunity of developing computer-adaptive tests (CAT) ¡V it also presents a number of problems for the instrument developer. Despite all the problem, IRT has been greedily embraced by many HRQL instrument developers ¡V sometimes, one suspects, too uncritically. This workshop will explain and illustrate use of IRT methods, and debate the advantages and disadvantages of IRT.

We shall discuss how each of the approaches described ¡V qualitative methods, clinimetrics, traditional psychometrics and item response theory ¡V has its own strengths and weaknesses. It will be argued that excessive use of any one technology can lead to instrument inadequacies. Optimal questionnaire development should make appropriate use of all these methods in an integrated manner.

Workshop 4 (3 hour)

Subjective Wellbeing Measurement for Special Populations (With Intellectual impairment, Children)
Presenter: Anna L.D. Lau, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Science, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China

Target: Those having limited or some knowledge about quality of life and its measurement who are interested in measurements of subjective life quality of populations with cognitive impairment and children.

Content: A primary concern with measurements of subjective wellbeing (subjective quality of life) of specific populations such as those with cognitive impairment and children, is whether they are capable of providing both valid and reliable responses on their personal subjective states. This workshop will review the importance of measuring their subjective wellbeing, examine and propose means for overcoming methodological challenges associated with such measurements of these populations. Contents will include the introduction of a contemporary tool -- The Personal Wellbeing Index, which is a well-validated, reliable and sensitive measure of subjective wellbeing. This is a brief cross-cultural instrument, which is the only of such kind that contains parallel forms designed for people who are cognitively impaired and children. Together with the normal adult version, this instrument will capture and enable a comprehensive view of the full spectrum of an entire population. Practical issues in measuring subjective wellbeing, using the Personal Wellbeing Index, will be demonstrated and discussed. The workshop format includes lectures, practical exercises and interactive discussions.

Workshop 5 (3 hour)

Qualitative Research Methods: the foundation of all patient reported measures
Presenter: Mona Martin, RN, MPA, Director, Health Research Associates, Seattle, WA, USA

Target: A workshop for those who are interested in gaining better skills and understanding about the early development process for new measures; and for those who work with patient debriefing interviews in cross cultural adaptation projects.

Content: This workshop will provide the basic rational and descriptive process for using qualitative research to anchor the content of new measures to the patient experience; for using qualitative data to form conceptual measurement models and prepare for item generation; for applying general principles of measurement design, and for conducting cognitive debriefing interviews with preliminary draft measures or new translations. Examples will be provided from real research experiences. Material will presented in lecture format and participants will have the opportunity to develop greater qualitative skills through work in small groups on example tasks from each of the content areas and discuss results and difficulties.