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The WHOQOL-100 has good psychometric properties in breast cancer patients
Brenda L Den Oudsten1, Guus L Van Heck, Alida F W Van der Steeg
1Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases, Department of Medical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands. b.l.denoudsten@uvt.nl
Objective:
This prospective follow-up study examines the psychometric properties of the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment instrument (WHOQOL-100) for assessing quality of life in women suspected of having breast cancer and disease-free breast cancer survivors.
Study Design And Setting:
The WHOQOL-100 was tested at five points in time in women with a palpable lump in the breast or an abnormality on a screening mammography (N=356) and breast cancer survivors (N=140). Furthermore, all participants completed measures of anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory) and depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale). Moreover, women who were diagnosed with breast cancer also completed the EORTC-QLQ-BR-23 at time points 2-5. Reliability (internal consistency; test-retest reliability) and construct validity were tested.
Results:
Confirmatory factor analyses on the WHOQOL-100 items showed a good fit with models reflecting six factors (physical health, psychological health, level of independence, social relationships, environment, spirituality/religion/personal beliefs) or four factors (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, environment). Internal consistency was adequate. Test-retest correlations were high. The WHOQOL-100 correlated highly with related constructs and showed low correlations with unrelated constructs.
Conclusion:
The WHOQOL-100 is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring QOL in women suspected of having breast cancer and disease-free breast cancer survivors.
