Purpose
The remarkable impact of response shift on quality of life (QoL) assessment among patients has been cited. There is an increased emphasis on distinguishing the real change of QOL and the self-regulation of individuals. This study aims to review the evidence of the response shift among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Methods
We conducted searches of five electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, EBSCO host, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, manual review. Articles published up to 13 May 2020 were selected. Studies meeting the eligibility criteria were reviewed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The quality of included articles was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies.
Results
The search of databases yielded 121 articles and articles were included in this review. of them were quantitative prospective cohort studies and one was a qualitative perspective cross-sectional study. The QoL measurements included visual analog scale, time trade-off, standard gamble, individual interviews, the Schedule for Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life-Direct Weighting (SEIQoL-DW) and the ideal scale. A total of individuals was included, and the most common participants enrolled in these studies were patients with dialysis (studies). All of the eligible studies reported the use of then-test methods and of them used individualized measures including interviews, SEIQol-DW and ideal scale to examine response shifts. The existence of response shift was reported in each study and the most common type of response shifts detected was recalibration. The disease trajectory and have-want discrepancy of individuals were revealed as important factors of response shifts.
Conclusions
Our systematic review indicated that the response shift in QoL assessment among patients with ESRD was proved to exist and need more attention. What’s more, making use of response shifts to modify interventions may promote recovery and help patients adapt to illness better. Present studies were limited by the sample size, research design and response shift detection methods. Further work on advanced research design and RS detection methods is needed in the context of ESRD.