Big Little Explorers | Science Literacy Podcast for Kids · Big Little Books

Episode 10: Developing a Questionnaire for Patients with Eye Conditions with Farheen Khan

·21 min·1 clip

Farheen urges students to stop treating one career path as a tunnel and pursue experiences for learning and growth.

1. Big Little Explorers examines Farheen Khan’s project developing an appearance-related questionnaire for pediatric eye-condition patients. 2. Farheen Khan is a University of Toronto PhD student whose patient interviews shape questions about appearance, psychological effects, and social interactions. 3. The project asks how clinicians can understand post-treatment appearance concerns and identify additional support services. 4. Farheen studied life science and biochemistry at McMaster University before moving from wet-lab research toward patient interaction. 5. After two years of a master’s degree at the Institute of Medical Science, Farheen transferred into a PhD and reached her third year. 6. The questionnaire adapts an existing appearance-outcomes questionnaire for patients with eye conditions rather than starting from scratch. 7. During interviews, patients answer each question while thinking aloud so Farheen can identify comprehension problems. 8. Patients also assess whether questions are relevant, whether instructions make sense, and whether response options fit their experiences. 9. Farheen changes wording when visual impairment makes a question difficult to see or understand. 10. Interviews typically last one to two hours before Farheen reviews notes and presents recurring feedback to an expert panel. 11. The panel combines clinical expertise, research guidance, and patient partners’ lived-experience perspective. 12. Patient partners help ensure questionnaire modifications remain understandable, clinically relevant, scientifically relevant, and grounded in patient experience. 13. Field testing will ask hundreds of patients from around the world to complete the modified questionnaire. 14. Statistics will identify which questions provide useful information and operate similarly across ages, sexes, and cultures. 15. Reliability testing will compare responses when someone completes the questionnaire today and again the following week. 16. Treatment comparisons will test whether the questionnaire detects useful changes before and after treatment. 17. Farheen says interviews reveal day-to-day effects that textbooks and research papers do not show on their own. 18. The interview format is a conversational educational exchange that moves from biography to methods, clinical applications, and career advice. 19. Best for students curious about patient-centered medical research. 20. May not suit listeners seeking treatment instructions or clinical advice.

As heard by us

A focused look at how patient feedback helps shape a stronger questionnaire.

Farheen, a PhD student at the University of Toronto, follows a clear path from McMaster's life science program and biochemistry into patient-facing research.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want to hear how patient feedback turns into real questionnaire changes.

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