AMWA Northern California Chapter Meeting
American Medical Writers Association members and guests are invited to the Spring meeting on Sunday, April 27, where local AMWA member Robert Hoop will lead a discussion of Quality of Life issues in biomedical research. More information, directions and registration details are available online.

Date: Sunday, April 27, 2003 Time: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Place: Hobee's Restaurant, Belmont (directions below)
101 Shoreway Road
Belmont, CA 94002
Phone: (650) 596-0400
Cost: $15.00 per person, cash or check payable to AMWA Northern California.
Bring your payment to the meeting.
For more information call Toni Derion at 925-730-8044. RSVP to Toni Derion at toniderion@aol.com

Directions to Hobee's:
From San Francisco or from the East Bay via the San Mateo Bridge:
101 S toward San Jose
Exit at Ralston Ave toward Belmont
Take ramp toward Marine World Parkway
Right onto Ralston Ave
Stay straight to go onto Marine World Parkway Right onto Shoreway Road
From San Jose or from the East Bay via the Dumbarton Bridge:
101 N toward San Francisco
Exit at Ralston Ave toward Belmont
Merge onto Marine World Parkway
Right onto Shoreway Road

QUALITY OF LIFE RESEARCH IN THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
What is health-related quality of life? What is the purpose of quality of life research? How can quality of life be measured? These difficult questions are becoming increasingly important in social science, health and social services, clinical medicine, and biomedical science. At the next chapter meeting, AMWA Northern California member Robert Hoop will lead a discussion of issues in Quality Of Life (QoL) in biomedical research.

In his presentation, Robert will consider the following aspects of QoL research and the writer's role in them.

• QoL as an issue of efficacy, safety, both, or neither (and does it matter?)
• The properties of a validated QoL instrument and the importance of describing those properties
• Disease-specific versus generic questionnaires
• The audience for QoL research

Robert will also present examples of QoL questionnaires, journals, and books, and examples of writing about QoL research for a manuscript and for a clinical report.

Robert has master's degrees in both statistics and political science and has worked in biomedical research for 21 years as a statistician, medical writer, QoL researcher, and a project manager. His experience in QoL research includes designing studies, writing QoL protocols, writing QoL research reports and manuscripts, speaking and chairing sessions at national conventions, and analyzing the psychometric properties of QoL instruments. Currently, Robert is an independent consultant/contractor residing in Sunnyvale.