"Searching for all the information you need about PRO Questionnaires"

Two types of quick information searches can be distinguished:

Simple searches
Advanced searches

Simple searches

It mainly consists of searching for practical information about health outcomes instruments. Requests can focus on but are not limited to:

Search for availability of questionnaires and their translations
Information about methodology of linguistic validation used to generate PRO translations, including checking of consistency with official originals and harmonization across language-versions
Supplying of questionnaires or translations (based on publicly available information or special authorization received from owners)
Contacts with developers for specific information on a questionnaire (e.g. scoring)
Contacts with developers and/or other licensing authorities (e.g. tests publishers, journals) to seek for conditions of access and use of questionnaires and translations
Handling of licensing for questionnaires on behalf of the users (including contacts with Legal Depts)
Lists of internal bibliographic references for a disease or a questionnaire

In 2007, over 3,000 “simple” information requests from pharmaceutical companies, academic researchers, physicians, associations, and international organizations were handled by the Information Unit’s team (6 persons).

Advanced searches

These are generally large requests (e.g., the identification of instruments developed in a particular disease) requiring the review of the relevant documentation and the establishment of a report.

Methods

The advanced searches involve the following methods:

Literature search using both in-house and external databases (e.g., Medline, EMbase focusing on the last three years)
Selection and ordering of the most relevant documents (when and if not available in our library)
Review and analysis of selected documents according to a specific pre-established grid (see below)
Production of a report including

1. Introduction and objectives
2. Literature search strategy
3. List of selected references
4. Review of relevant identified instruments including:

Author
Stated purpose of development
Disease / Condition
Population / Age
Characteristics: dimensions / total number of items /mode of administration
Language
Contact information
Conditions for use
References