What is CQUEST?
The Cancer Quality of Life Expert Service Team (CQUEST) has been funded as part of the Cancer Australia Support for Clinical Trials Program. We provide high-quality expert advice and support to the Multi-site Cancer Cooperative Trials Groups (CCTGs) about the inclusion of Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) in their clinical trials and other studies.
CQUEST plays an important role in ensuring that the CCTGs are optimally measuring the PROs that they want to measure and will optimally inform their studies, using the most up to date knowledge, methods and instruments available.
Who is CQUEST?
CQUEST is a multidisciplinary collaboration between University of Technology Sydney (UTS) research centres and international Quality of Life (QoL) experts. The research centres are the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE), and the Centre for Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT).
CQUEST includes expertise from across a wide range of disciplines relevant to the measurement of PROs in cancer clinical trials (statistics, preference assessment, linguistics, data linkage, IT and qualitative methods), ensuring a comprehensive service to meet all CCTG PRO-related needs.
The technical service is led by a Core Executive who conduct the day-to-day requirements of the Technical Service supported by a Project Officer. The Executive Advisory Committee will provide advice to the Core Executive team. The Executive Advisory Committee and Core Executive are world leading experts in QoL research and palliative medicine.
To ensure the smooth running of CQUEST, a team of multidisciplinary Expert Members from across UTS provide advice on their areas of expertise as they might relate to QoL research in cancer clinical trials. A steering committee informs CQUEST’s work, but also facilitates outreach, and understands the barriers, challenges and opportunities for the use and implementation of QoL measures in trials nationwide.