Ensuring Cultural and Cognitive Integrity in Instrument Translation: Quality of Life Index for Japanese Cancer Patients

The Impact of Palliative Care on Mitigating Pain and Its Associated Effects in Determining Quality of Life among Colon Cancer Outpatients

Pain continues to be a significant problem for cancer patients, and the impact of a population-based strategy on their experiences is not completely understood. Our study aimed to determine the impact of palliative care on mitigating pain and its associated effects in determining the quality of life (QoL) among colon cancer outpatients. Six collection databases were used to perform a structured systematic review of the available literature, considering all papers published between the year 2000 and February 2023. PRISMA guidelines were adopted in our study, and a total of 9792 papers were evaluated. However, only 126 articles met the inclusion criteria. A precise diagnosis of disruptive colorectal cancer (CRC) pain disorders among patients under palliative care is necessary to mitigate it and its associated effects, enhance health, promote life expectancy, increase therapeutic responsiveness, and decrease comorbidity complications. Physical activities, the use of validated pain assessment tools, remote outpatient education and monitoring, chemotherapeutic pain reduction strategies, music and massage therapies, and bridging social isolation gaps are essential in enhancing QoL. We recommend and place a strong emphasis on the adoption of online training/or coaching programs and the integration of formal and informal palliative care systems for maximum QoL benefits among CRC outpatients.

Ensuring reliability and cultural validity of the Indonesian version of the Quality Of Life Index for patients with cancer

The objective of this study was to translate the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index (QLI) into the Indonesian language, considering its cultural and functional appropriateness, and to evaluate its psychometric properties by testing the reliability and validity. A committee approach was conducted to create the Indonesian version of the QLI (QLI-Id) and cognitive interviewing with 15 patients with cancer was conducted to identify potential problems or errors in answering the QLI-Id. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out using 236 responses to the QLI-Id questionnaire from patients with cancer; 62 of whom completed the same questionnaire twice within a 3-week interval to verify stability reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis results supported construct validity with model fit statistics for the original single-factor and four-factor structure of the QLI (corresponding to the QLI's total score and four subscale scores, respectively) with some rearrangement of the items within each subscale. Reliability for the total QLI-Id scale was supported by McDonald's Omega of 0.92 and the intraclass/intrasubject correlation coefficient at two time points of 0.86. The strong correlation between the QLI-Id total and the Satisfaction with Life Scale scores and the overall health/QOL domain of the EORTC QLQ-C30 (both r = 0.73) supported its construct validity. This study provides evidence for the reliability and validity of the QLI-Id as an instrument to measure the impact of cancer on the overall QOL of Indonesian patients.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Indonesian version for quality of life among breast cancer patients

Background

Breast cancer is one of the most important health problems worldwide. Quality of life (QoL) is an important indicator to evaluate symptoms in cancer patients, including those with breast cancer. Culturally suitable, valid, reliable, and appropriate instruments to measure the QoL of breast cancer patients are needed, which is still rare in Indonesia. This study aimed to translate the EORTC QLQ-BR45 instrument into Indonesian and evaluate its psychometrics.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed on 635 patients conveniently selected from the oncology department in referral hospital. The first phase of this study involved translation of the existing EORTC QLQ-BR45 into Indonesian, and in the second phase, we evaluated its psychometric properties. Construct validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Criterion validity was examined according to the association between disease stage and Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS).

Results

A total of 635 (99.00%) completed the EORTC QLQ-BR45 successfully. The instrument indicated good readability and high content validity. All Cronbach's alpha coefficients were satisfactory (overall value, 0.87). For construct validity, patients with KPS ≥80% did better than those with KPS ≤70% as did two multi-item scales in functional scales (body image and breast satisfaction) and five multi-item scales in symptom scales (systemic therapy side effects, endocrine therapy, and arm, breast, and endocrine sexual symptoms). Body image score of late-stage patients was significantly higher. CFA indicated that the nine-factor structure of the Indonesian EORTC QLQ-BR45 was a good fit for the data.

Conclusion

The Indonesian EORTC QLQ-BR45 questionnaire is reliable and valid with good psychometric properties, thus can be used for breast cancer patients in Indonesia.

Effectiveness of an online support program to help female cancer patients manage their health and illness: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background

The aim of the trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions provided by online support program apps, adopting health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) scores as indicators.

Methods

The design is as an open, randomized, parallel-group trial with longitudinal data collection. The subjects will be female cancer patients receiving treatment in a Japanese National Cancer Hospital. Patients assigned to the experimental group will use three apps: an app for them to monitor their own health (monitoring app), an app to assess their understanding of their diagnosis and treatment and their readiness to receive treatment (confirmation app), and an app to address mental health issues (writing app); patients assigned to the control group will use only the monitoring app. At baseline (before patients undergo cancer treatment) and three other times during the study, evaluation indicators will be obtained from three different standardized HR-QOL scales that are incorporated in the monitoring app. The study hypothesis is that at 6 months after patients’ baseline health monitoring, patients in the experimental group will have improved HR-QOL as compared with patients in the control group.

Conclusion

This study is based on self-regulation theory, so it is important that the online support program works in an efficient way with respect to patients finding and setting their own health-related goals and adapting their behaviors to achieve those goals. Verifying the effectiveness of the combination of the three apps will show that it is a scientifically valid approach to maintaining or improving the HR-QOL of cancer patients.

Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Quality of Life Index for patients with cancer

This study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the newly completed Japanese translation of the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index Cancer Version III (QLI). Using a cross-sectional descriptive design, 136 ambulatory patients with gastrointestinal cancer (55 receiving chemotherapy, 76 with stable health status after treatment, and five status not known) completed a questionnaire at a one-time point, and 26 patients (stable health status) completed the questionnaire again 2 weeks later. Internal consistency reliability was supported by Cronbach's α of .96 for the total scale, with subscales ranging from .83 to .93. A test-retest correlation of 0.76 (total scale) provided evidence of stability reliability over a 2-week period, with subscale retest correlations ranging from 0.70 to 0.83. Confirmatory factor analysis showed the same four domains for the Japanese translation as the original QLI, supporting construct validity. We also assessed construct validity by examining the relationships between the Japanese QLI and six other concepts known to be related to the quality of life. As hypothesized, all correlations were moderate and in the expected direction (pain -0.39, anxiety -0.54, depression -0.63, stress -0.51, pain interfering with functioning -0.52, and general health 0.62). This evidence of the reliability and validity of the Japanese translation of the QLI supports its use in research and clinical practice to evaluate the impact of cancer and treatment. This new translation can be used to assess the patient's perspective of their quality of life, both within Japan and in cross-cultural studies with the QLI in other languages.