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A Questionnaire to Assess |
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Page 1 of 8 A Questionnaire to Assesss Quality of Life in Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy Josefina C.L. Alonso1, Jorge B. Gallestey2 | |
Abstract Objectives: To validate an instrument which was designed to measure the effect of chemotherapy on quality of life, in cancer patients.
Methods: Focus and expert groups were organized. One-hundred-twenty patients were recruited and interviewed at the start and at the end of chemotherapy. The questionnaire was tested for construct, discriminant and convergent validity, and for unidimensionality.
Results: The validation process showed that it is internally consistent and reliable, and that it has convergent and discriminant validity. The structural model showed a good fit. The instrument is apt to test the effect of chemotherapy on the quality of life of cancer patients. Introduction
The major goal of Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) questionnaires is to provide a more comprehensive assessment of the health condition of patients, individually or as a group, as well as a more precise evaluation of the costs and benefits that may derive from chemotherapy. Experts in this subject have remarked that traditional methods of assessment are not sensitive to the deleterious effects related to treatment.1-4 The present questionnaire is an attempt to improve the capacity to detect specific effects of chemotherapy on the quality of life of cancer patients. Other general questionnaires address general conditions related to quality of life, but not related to the adverse effects following
treatment. Existing questionnaires 5-6 assessing specific effects of chemotherapy would have to be adapted to our cultural
and socioeconomic conditions. Patient outcomes, including quality of life, should be a priority for cancer-therapy guideline development. The development of valid, reliable HRQL instruments is an essential part in the quantification of the
physical, social, and psychological distress associated with cancer and its treatment.7-9
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1Clinical Trials, Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, Havana City, La Habana, Cuba
2Center of Atherosclerosis, Higher Institute of Medical Sciences, La Habana, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba