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Palliative Medicine
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Methods for handling missing data in palliative care research

S Fielding

Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, s.fielding{at}abdn.ac.uk

P M Fayers

Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen and Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim

J H Loge

Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim and Department of Oncology, Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo

M S Jordhøy

Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim and Department of Oncology, Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo

S Kaasa

Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim and Palliative Medicine Unit, St. Olav University Hospital, Trondheim

Missing data is a common problem in palliative care research due to the special characteristics (deteriorating condition, fatigue and cachexia) of the population. Using data from a palliative study, we illustrate the problems that missing data can cause and show some approaches for dealing with it. Reasons for missing data and ways to deal with missing data (including complete case analysis, imputation and modelling procedures) are explored. Possible mechanisms behind the missing data are: missing completely at random, missing at random or missing not at random. In the example study, data are shown to be missing at random. Imputation of missing data is commonly used (including last value carried forward, regression procedures and simple mean). Imputation affects subsequent summary statistics and analyses, and can have a substantial impact on estimated group means and standard deviations. The choice of imputation method should be carried out with caution and the effects reported.

Key Words: EORTC QLQ-C30 • health-related quality of life • imputation • missing data

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 20, No. 8, 791-798 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0269216306072555
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