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Development of a disease specific questionnaire to supplement a generic tool for QoL in colorectal cancer
Author(s) -
DavidsonHomewood J.,
Norman A.,
Küchler T.,
Cunningham D.,
Watson M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.684
Subject(s) - cronbach's alpha , quality of life (healthcare) , construct validity , medicine , reliability (semiconductor) , disease , colorectal cancer , construct (python library) , cancer , psychometrics , physical therapy , clinical psychology , psychology , computer science , nursing , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , programming language
The need for disease‐specific quality of life measures is highlighted in the literature. The psychometric properties of a supplementary disease‐specific quality of life questionnaire developed for use with a generic Quality of Life tool in colorectal cancer patients are explored. Originally developed and tested in a German sample, the English translation was tested on a cohort of UK colorectal cancer patients. Relevance and acceptability was previously established in Germany. A rigorous factor analysis ascertained the underlying structure of two factors with a number of single items that were retained as clinically important symptom indicators. In considering validity, four conditions were assessed: Reliability using Cronbach's alpha; Construct validity by comparing patient subgroups; Clinical Validity, by testing the hypothesis that some patient subgroups experience worse quality of life; Construct Reliability using second order factor analysis with the EORTC QOLQ‐C30 scales, confirming that the factors retained provide an excellent measure of physical discomfort and a good measure of physical well being. Two other such questionnaires were developed in parallel with this one and reported in the literature (FACT‐C and QOLQ‐CR38). However, this questionnaire provides a useful alternative tool for use in clinical trials of colorectal cancer treatments alongside a core QoL questionnaire especially when brevity is an important consideration. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.