Evaluation of functional outcomes (speech, swallowing and voice) in patients attending speech pathology after head and neck cancer treatment(s): development of a multi-centre database

Since April 1997, in Melbourne, Australia, speech pathologists have collabo rated to establish a prospective database of functional outcomes of speech, swallowing and voice for patients undergoing head and neck cancer treatmen ts. Staff at eight acute care hospitals, all of which offer speech pathology fo r head and neck cancer services in Victoria, are contributing data, collate d centrally, in an agreed pro forma. Early results are given (after 12 months' data collection). The implication s for clinically-based research, and the future potential for benchmarking outcomes - by expansion of the rehabilitation database beyond the current p articipating sites - is discussed. This paper outlines the rationale of establishing the database is multicent red, and explores some of the complexities involved, including the challeng es inherent in long-term accurate data collection in the head and neck canc er patient population. This work represents the development of an appropria te, usable tool for data collection on functional outcomes.