CROSS-CULTURAL ADAPTATION AND PSYCHOMETRIC VALIDATION OF THE PALLIATIVE CARE QUALITY OF LIFE INSTRUMENT

Abstract

Most health assessment tools have been developed in the English language, which requires a cross-cultural adaptation process consisting of essential stages such as the role of the expert committee, detailed documentation of the steps and pilot testing. Objective: To culturally adapt and psychometrically validate the Palliative Care Quality of Life Instrument (PQLI) for Chilean patients with advanced cancer. Materials and Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional, two-stage study. Cross-cultural adaptation stage: direct and back translation by independent native translators, analysis by experts in palliative care and pretest to 20 patients in the palliative care unit of a hospital in the city of Santiago de Chile, who met such criteria as being over 18 years old, literate and having cancer level 1, 2 or 3 according to the performance status scale of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG). At the validation stage of psychometric properties, the instrument was applied to a total of 155 patients, resulting in a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.806. Results: 63.2% of the patients were between 50 and 69 years old and 56.8% were women. Regarding treatment selection, 65.8% felt able and willing to participate, while the PQLI was significantly related to the support received from family and friends. With respect to the support from the health professional team, 92% felt supported; 96% highlighted support from nurses. Conclusions: This adapted tool allows to know the option of participating in the selection of treatment and have an overview of the quality of life of people with advanced cancer in Chile.