Mastectomy and breast augmentation outcomes among nonbinary, transgender, and cisgender adults.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate epidemiologic characteristics and postoperative complications among nonbinary, transgender, and cisgender adults undergoing mastectomy or breast augmentation. Comparable postoperative complication rates were observed between gender modality cohorts undergoing breast augmentation, but higher complication rates were observed among cisgender patients following mastectomy, likely due to variations in clinical indications and technique. These results underscore the safety of chest surgery for gender-diverse patients.

Impacts of Residential Segregation and Comorbidity on Racial Disparities in Acute Care Utilization.

Purpose: To examine whether living in highly segregated communities or having comorbidity is associated with an increased risk of acute use of emergency and inpatient services (i.e., acute care utilization [ACU]) among racial minorities.

Can machine translation match human expertise? Quantifying the performance of large language models in the translation of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).

Background: The rise in artificial intelligence tools, especially those competent at language interpretation and translation, enables opportunities to enhance patient-centered care. One might be the ability to rapidly and inexpensively create accurate translations of English language patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to facilitate global uptake. Currently, it is unclear if machine translation (MT) tools can produce sufficient translation quality for this purpose.

Gender-Affirming Surgery Price Transparency and Online Information Availability in US Hospitals.

Background: Many transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals rely on online resources to obtain gender-affirming surgery (GAS) information. In 2021, US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) mandated that hospitals disclose prices for common services and procedures. The aim of this study was to assess the online information and price availability for GAS in US-based hospitals.

Collecting patient-reported outcomes data in transgender and gender diverse adults seeking surgery: barriers and facilitators from the patient perspective.

Purpose: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) evaluate how patients feel and function. While several prior studies have explored barriers and facilitators to integrating PROM data collection in clinical workflows from patient perspectives, research on this topic remains limited for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) patients seeking gender-affirming surgery. The objective of this qualitative study was to identify barriers and facilitators to collecting PROM data in TGD patients undergoing surgery from the patient perspective.

Measuring Satisfaction with Minimally Invasive Aesthetic Treatments with the SKIN-Q Treatment Outcome Scale.

Background: A key outcome in aesthetic treatments is the patient's view of how their skin looks and feels after a treatment.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to add a Treatment Outcome scale to the SKIN-Q patient-reported outcome measure.

Methods: Concept elicitation interviews were performed with patients in Canada and the United States.

Research trends among new investigators at ISOQOL: a bibliometric analysis from 2019 to 2023.

Background: New investigators (NI), encompassing graduate students, recent doctoral graduates, and early-career faculty, are instrumental in advancing quality of life (QoL) research through innovative methodologies and diverse perspectives. Within the International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL), the New Investigators Special Interest Group (NI-SIG) fosters collaboration and supports this community. This study utilizes bibliometric analysis to examine the contributions of NI-SIG members, focusing on publication trends, collaboration patterns, and thematic developments in QoL research.

Understanding data visualization techniques in qualitative studies used to develop and validate patient-reported outcome measures: a targeted literature review.

Purpose: Qualitative data that reflects patients' experiences are the foundation of any patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) development and validation study; however, there is limited understanding of the type of data visualization techniques that facilitate communication of this data. The goal of this targeted literature review was to investigate data visualization methods that have been used in published PROM development and validation literature to report qualitative results.

Methods: A literature search in OVID via MEDLINE was conducted among the top 10 non-disease-specific journals publishing PROM qualitative development and validation studies.

Development and Assessment of a Patient-Reported Outcome Instrument for Gender-Affirming Care.

Importance: There is an urgent need for a validated gender-affirming care-specific patient-reported outcome measure (PROM).

Objective: To field test the GENDER-Q, a new PROM for gender-affirming care, in a large, international sample of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults and evaluate its psychometric properties.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This international cross-sectional study was conducted among TGD adults aged 18 years and older who were seeking or had received gender-affirming care within the past 5 years at 21 clinical sites across Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, and Spain; participants were also recruited through community groups (eg, crowdsourcing platform, social media).

Is age an effect modifier of the association between body mass index and physical function in patients with obesity?

Objectives: Amid hesitancy to pursue interventions, such as metabolic and bariatric surgery for obesity within some age groups, the impact of age on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and perceived bodily function is fundamental to understand. Our objective was thus to determine whether this relationship was affected by older age such that it might alter how we consider interventions in different age groups.

Methods: Patient data (N = 1921) were obtained prospectively and assessed to determine if age decile influenced the association between BMI and BODY-Q Physical Function scores; BODY-Q PF is a validated instrument which assesses perceived physical function in patients who are being managed for weight loss.

Core competencies for healthcare practitioners and clinics providing gender-affirming care from the patient perspective: An international qualitative study.

Purpose: Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals face significant barriers to healthcare access, including healthcare providers' (HCPs) lack of knowledge on TGD-specific healthcare issues, discrimination, and mistreatment. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health recommends integrating TGD health competencies into training. However, specific guidance on what these competencies should be, particularly from a patient-centered lens, is lacking.

Health-related social needs mitigate ethnoracial inequities in patient-reported mental health.

Purpose: To characterize the relationship between ethnoracial identity, health-related social needs (HRSNs), and mental health (MH), and to examine the mediating role of HRSNs on the relationship between MH and ethnoracial identity.

Methods: Data from 30,437 adults who were seeking care within Mass General Brigham integrated health system in United States and had completed PROMIS Global Health within three years of their most recent HRSNs screening between March 1, 2018 and January 31, 2023 were included. The presence and magnitude of PROMIS Global MH score differences for six ethnoracial groups (White non-Hispanic, White Hispanic, Black (Hispanic and non-Hispanic), Asian non-Hispanic, Other non-Hispanic and Other Hispanic (includes Asian Hispanic) was assessed.

Understanding Stakeholder Priorities in Dupuytren Disease: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Currently, there is no recommended standard set of outcomes to report in Dupuytren disease treatment studies, nor are there guidelines on how the outcomes themselves should be reported. This study aimed to elicit the most salient issues for patients living with and undergoing treatment for Dupuytren disease, as well as for the hand surgeons, occupational therapists, and physical therapists caring for these patients.

Methods: A qualitative, interpretive description study employing one-on-one semi-structured interviews was conducted.

International study to develop a patient-reported outcome measure to evaluate outcomes of gender-affirming care - the GENDER-Q.

Background: To meaningfully understand outcomes of gender-affirming care, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that are grounded in what matters to individuals seeking care are urgently needed. The objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive PROM to assess outcomes of gender-affirming care in clinical practice, research, and quality initiatives (the GENDER-Q).

Methods: Internationally established guidelines for PROM development were used to create a field test version of the GENDER-Q.

Measuring Outcomes Relevant to the Décolletage From the Patient Perspective: Development and Validation of the BODY-Q Décolletage Scale.

Background: A range of cosmetic treatments to improve skin quality of the décolletage are available. To measure outcomes from the patient perspective, a rigorously developed patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) is needed.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and validate the BODY-Q Décolletage scale.

Patient Factors Associated with Increased Cancer Worry, Fatigue, and Impact on Work Following a Breast Cancer Diagnosis: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

A breast cancer diagnosis may result in disabling effects which may persist after treatment. The aim of this study was to identify patient factors that are associated with increased cancer worry, fatigue, and impact on work. Women with a history of breast cancer, aged ≥18 years, and English-speaking were recruited through the Love Research Army between October and November 2019.

Breast Reduction Epidemiology and Complications in Nonbinary, Transgender, and Cisgender Adults.

Introduction: Research in gender-affirming chest surgery has primarily compared cisgender versus transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people, without specifically addressing nonbinary people. This study will assess surgical complications between cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary adults undergoing breast reductions.

Methods: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program databases from 2015 to 2021 were used to identify TGD patients who underwent breast reduction (Current Procedural Terminology code: 19318) and cisgender patients who underwent this procedure for cosmesis or cancer prophylaxis.

Psychometric validation of the FACE-Q Aesthetics Satisfaction with Temples scale in individuals seeking minimally invasive treatment to improve temple hollowing.

Background: The FACE-Q Aesthetics is used extensively to measure patient reported outcomes for minimally invasive and surgical facial aesthetic treatments. We recently developed a new FACE-Q scale to assess satisfaction with the appearance of the temples.

Aim: The aim of this study was to field test the FACE-Q Satisfaction with Temples scale to examine its psychometric properties.

Improving the Impact of BODY-Q Scores Through Minimal Important Differences in Body Contouring Surgery: An International Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: The BODY-Q is a widely used patient-reported outcome measure for comprehensive assessment of treatment outcomes specific to patients undergoing body contouring surgery (BCS). However, for the BODY-Q to be meaningfully interpreted and used in clinical practice, minimal important difference (MID) scores are needed. A MID is defined as the smallest change in outcome measure score that patients perceive as important.

Development and validation of a patient-reported outcome measure for hair loss treatment: The HAIR-Q.

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for hair loss focus mainly on Alopecia Areata. We created a PROM (i.e.

Temporary Declines and Demand Resurgence: Gender-Affirming Surgery Volume and Complication Trends During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted surgical volume reductions due to lockdown measures. This study evaluates COVID-19's impact on gender-affirming surgery (GAS) volume and complications from the pandemic onset through the recovery period.

Methods: The 2019-2021 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program databases were queried for transgender or gender-diverse patients using ICD-10 codes.

A Content and Readability Analysis of Genitourinary and Sexual Health-Related Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Gender-Affirming Care.

Objective: To the evaluate the readability and comprehensiveness of genitourinary and sexual health-related patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) used in gender-affirming care.

Methods: Common PROMs that measure genitourinary and sexual health-related outcomes in gender-affirming care literature were identified from six recent systematic reviews. Readability analysis was completed at the level of individual items and full scale using established readability assessment tool, including Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Gunning Fog Score (GF), Coleman Liau Index (CLI), and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) Index.

Iterative qualitative approach to establishing content validation of a patient-reported outcome measure for arm lymphedema: the LYMPH-Q Upper Extremity Module.

Background: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BRCL) is one of the most common causes of upper extremity (UE) lymphedema in developed nations and substantially impacts health-related quality of life. To advance our understanding of the epidemiology and treatment of BRCL, rigorously developed and validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are needed. This study aimed to demonstrate the iterative content validity of a modular UE lymphedema-specific PROM called the LYMPH-Q UE module.