Eun-Hyun Lee1, Mison Chun, Seunghee Kang, Hye-Jin Lee. 1. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Ajou University, Suwon 443-721, Korea. ehlee@ajou.ac.kr
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) scale, which was developed and validated in the USA, is widely used to measure the health-related quality of life in cancer patients. The purpose of the present study was to empirically validate the FACT-G scale with Korean breast cancer patients. METHODS: A convenience sample of 193 women with breast cancer was recruited from a university hospital. The subjects were asked to complete the Korean version of the FACT-G scale. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation to determine factor construct validity. The loading criterion was set at 0.40 and above, inter-subscale correlations were computed using Pearson correlation, and the reliability of the internal consistency for the total scale and its subscales were assessed by Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The factor structure of the Korean version of the FACT-G scale paralleled that of the English version: the physical, social/family, emotional, and functional well-being subscales were constructively valid in Korean breast cancer patients. However, there is the possibility of culture-specific differences in the social/family well-being subscale, and some problematic translations were revealed. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0.89 and that for the subscales ranged from 0.78 to 0.90. CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the FACT-G scale was demonstrated as reliable and valid. Therefore, the scale can be used in research and clinical settings to assess the quality of life of Korean breast cancer patients.
BACKGROUND: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) scale, which was developed and validated in the USA, is widely used to measure the health-related quality of life in cancerpatients. The purpose of the present study was to empirically validate the FACT-G scale with Korean breast cancerpatients. METHODS: A convenience sample of 193 women with breast cancer was recruited from a university hospital. The subjects were asked to complete the Korean version of the FACT-G scale. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation to determine factor construct validity. The loading criterion was set at 0.40 and above, inter-subscale correlations were computed using Pearson correlation, and the reliability of the internal consistency for the total scale and its subscales were assessed by Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The factor structure of the Korean version of the FACT-G scale paralleled that of the English version: the physical, social/family, emotional, and functional well-being subscales were constructively valid in Korean breast cancerpatients. However, there is the possibility of culture-specific differences in the social/family well-being subscale, and some problematic translations were revealed. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0.89 and that for the subscales ranged from 0.78 to 0.90. CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the FACT-G scale was demonstrated as reliable and valid. Therefore, the scale can be used in research and clinical settings to assess the quality of life of Korean breast cancerpatients.
Authors: Aimee M Moore; T Clark Gamblin; David A Geller; Michael N Youssef; Kristin E Hoffman; Leigh Gemmell; Sonja M Likumahuwa; Dana H Bovbjerg; Anna Marsland; Jennifer L Steel Journal: Psychooncology Date: 2011-05 Impact factor: 3.894