Premium
The pediatric cancer quality of life inventory‐32 (PCQL‐32)
Author(s) -
Varni James W.,
Katz Ernest R.,
Seid Michael,
Quiggins Daniel J. L.,
FriedmanBender Amy
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19980315)82:6<1184::aid-cncr25>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - medicine , psychosocial , quality of life (healthcare) , construct validity , pediatric cancer , psychometrics , clinical trial , cancer , clinical psychology , psychiatry , nursing
BACKGROUND Multidimensional measurement of pediatric cancer patients' health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) in Phase III randomized controlled clinical trials is being recognized increasingly as an essential component in evaluating the comprehensive health outcomes of modern antineoplastic treatment protocols. The Pediatric Cancer Quality of Life Inventory‐32 (PCQL‐32) is a standardized patient self‐report and parent proxy‐report assessment instrument designed to assess systematically pediatric cancer patients' HRQOL outcomes. METHODS To validate a patient‐report form and a parent‐report form, the PCQL‐32 was administered to 291 pediatric cancer patients and to their parents. Both forms yield a total score and five a priori multidimensional scales. Clinical validity was determined by the known‐groups approach by comparing patients classified as either on or off treatment. To determine construct validity, a battery of standardized psychosocial measures was administered and a multitrait‐multimethod matrix was constructed. RESULTS For both patient and parent forms, internal consistency reliability of the PCQL‐32 total scale was high (0.91 and 0.92, respectively). The internal consistency reliabilities of the five component scales for both patient and parent forms were in the acceptable range for group comparisons. With regard to clinical validity, the PCQL‐32 total scale and the disease/treatment and physical functioning scales of the PCQL‐32 distinguished between patients on and off treatment for both patient‐ and parent‐report. The results of the multitrait‐multimethod matrix approach were consistent with hypotheses and lent evidence for the construct validity of the patient and parent forms of the PCQL‐32 total scale and the psychological functioning, social functioning, cognitive functioning, physical functioning, and disease/treatment scales. CONCLUSIONS The PCQL‐32 has demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability, clinical validity, and construct validity for both patient‐report and parent‐report forms. Further field testing of the PCQL‐32 will determine its practicality and utility in multisite pediatric cancer randomized controlled clinical trials. Cancer 1998;82:1184‐96. © 1998 American Cancer Society.