Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The quality of life of Brazilian patients in palliative care: validation of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 PAL (EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL)

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Supportive Care in Cancer Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to validate the Brazilian version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 PAL (EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL) to be used in patients with cancer in palliative care.

Methods

One hundred four outpatients with advanced cancer were recruited in Hospital das Clinicas—University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Results

The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that Cronbach-α is ≥0.7 except for fatigue (α = 0.58). Convergent validity was shown by the correlation observed between the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL dimensions with the EORTC QLQ-C30, Brief Pain Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory. The EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL detected significant differences in the performance status, supporting known-group validity.

Conclusions

Our data show that EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL is a brief, useful, and valid tool for assessing the quality of life of Brazilian patients in palliative care.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. DeVita VT, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA (2011) Cancer: principles & practice of oncology: primer of the molecular biology of cancer. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins/Wolters Kluwer. 9TH

  2. World Health Organization (2009) WHO Definition of Palliative Care. Acesso em: 04 jan 2012 Disponível em: http://www.who.int/cancer/palliative/definition/en

  3. Jemal A et al (2009) Cancer statistics, 2009 CA. Cancer J Clini 59(4):225–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. American Cancer Society (2009) Cancer Facts&Figures. Atlanta: American Cancer Society [periódico na internet] 2009. [acesso em 27 nov 2011] Disponível em: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@nho/documents/document/500809webpdf.pdf

  5. EORTC-QLQ-C15-PAL (2006) the new standard in the assessment of health-related quality of life in palliative care? Letter to the Editor. A response to Echteld MA et al. Palliative Medicine; 20: 59_/61

  6. Correia FR, De Carlo MMR (2012) de P Avaliação de qualidade de vida no contexto dos cuidados paliativos: revisão integrativa de literatura. Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem 20(2):[10 telas] mar.-abr

  7. Groenvold M et al (2006) The development of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL: a shortened questionnaire for cancer patients in palliative care. Eur J Cancer 42:55–64

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Translations. European Organization for Research and Treatment http://groups.eortc.be/qol/eortc-qlq-c15-pal http://groups.eortc.be/qol/

  9. Shin et al (2011) Cross-cultural application of the Korean version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 15-Palliative Care. J Pain Symptom Manag 41(2):478–484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Miyazaki K, Suzukamo Y, Shimozuma K, Nakayama T (2012) Verification of the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 Palliative (EORTCQLQ-C15-PAL). Qual Life Res 21(2):335–340

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Del-Real YS et al (2011) Validation of the Mexican–Spanish version of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire for the evaluation of health related quality of life in patients on palliative care. Psycho-Oncology 20:889–896

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Karnofsky DA, Abelmann WH, Craver LF, Burchenal JH (1948) The use of nitrogen mustard in the palliative treatment of cancer. Cancer 1(4):634–656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Fayers GJ et al (2001) The EORTC QLQ C30 Scoring Manual, 3rd edn. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  14. Aaronson N et al (1993) The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30: a quality-of-life instrument for use in international clinical trials in oncology. J Natl Cancer Inst 85(5):365–376

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Beck AT, Rush AJ, Shaw BF, Emery G (1977) Terapia Cognitiva da Depressão, 9th edn. Porto Alegre, Artes Médicas

    Google Scholar 

  16. Gorenstein C, Andrade L (1998) Inventário de Depressão de Beck: propriedades psicométricas da versão em português. Rev Psiquiatr Clín 25(5):245–250

    Google Scholar 

  17. Cleeland C, Ryan K (1994) Pain assessment: global use of the Brief Pain Inventory. Ann Acad Med Singap 23(2):129–138

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Ferreira KASL, Teixeira MJ, Mendonza TR, Cleeland CS (2011) Validation of brief pain inventory to Brazilian patients with pain. Support Care Cancer 19(4):505–511

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Cronbach LJ (1951) Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika 16(3):297–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Jöreskog KG, Sörbom D (2006) LISREL 8.80 for Windows [Computer Software] Lincolnwood. Scientific Software International, Inc., IL

    Google Scholar 

  21. Hair J, Anderson R, Tatham R, Black W (1998) Multivariate data analysis, 5th edn. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  22. Boyle GJ (1991) Does item homogeneity indicate internal consistency or item redundancy in psychometric scales? Personal Individ Differ 12(3):291–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the physicians, nurses, and physical therapists from the Hospital das Clinicas, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo who helped us to enroll patients in our study.

Conflict of interest

None declared.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Guarulhos-UnG, Guarulhos, SP, Brazil

    Natália Abou Hala Nunes

  2. Praça Santa Terezinha, 67, ap. 51, Centro, Taubate, SP, Brazil, 12010-130

    Natália Abou Hala Nunes

Authors
  1. Natália Abou Hala Nunes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natália Abou Hala Nunes.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nunes, N.A.H. The quality of life of Brazilian patients in palliative care: validation of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 PAL (EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL). Support Care Cancer 22, 1595–1600 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2119-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2119-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation