Elena Tsangaris
Elena’s specific research interest is in developing, validating, and using patient-reported outcome instruments (PROs) to assess the health and well-being of pediatric and adult patients with various diseases. She completed her graduate training (PhD, MSc) in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University (Hamilton, ON, Canada). The specific focus for her graduate and post-graduate training was to learn the qualitative and quantitative methods necessary to develop and validate PRO measures, including Rasch Measurement Theory analysis.
Elena’s MSc thesis was focused on understanding the health and supportive care needs of adolescents and young adults with cancer, while her PhD dissertation work involved the development of a new PRO measure for patients with cleft lip and/or palate (the CLEFT-Q). Specifically, the focus of her PhD thesis was on establishing content validity of the CLEFT-Q and to translate and culturally adapt the measure into six languages and three Spanish variations to facilitate an international field-test.
As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Patient-Reported Outcome, Value, and Experience (PROVE) Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA, USA), Elena participated in a diverse range of projects to develop and implement PROs into clinical care. Her main project was focused on developing a new patient mobile application and clinician dashboards to facilitate the exchange of information, including PROs, between patients and their providers. Additionally, she led various PRO measure development studies for vascularised composite tissue transplantation of the face, breast cancer, migraines, and chronic wounds.
