Health-related quality of life among colorectal cancer patients in Malaysia: a study protocol

Abstract

BackgroundColorectal cancer is a major public health problem in Malaysia. However, it is also one of the most treatable cancers, resulting in significant numbers of survivors. Therefore, the impact of surviving treatment for colorectal cancer on health related quality of life is important for the patients, clinicians and policy makers, and may differ in different cultures and populations. The aim of this study was to validate the Malaysian versions of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life instruments among colorectal cancers patients.Methods/designThis is a cross sectional multi centre study. Three hospitals were included, the University of Malaya Medical Centre, the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre and Hospital Tuanku Jaafar Seremban. Malaysian citizens and permanent residence were studied and demographic and clinical information obtained from hospital records. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of life Core 30, colorectal cancer CR29, and the colorectal cancer liver metastasis LMC 21 were used and an observer assessment of performance obtained with the Karnofsky Performance Scale. Questionnaires were translated into three most commonly spoken languages in Malaysia (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil), then administered, scored and analyzed following the developers’ guidelines. Ethical approval was obtained from the participating centres. Tests of reliability and validity were performed to examine the validity of these instruments.ConclusionThe result of pilot testing shows that the use of the Malaysian versions of EORTC QLQ C30, CR29 instruments is feasible in our sample of colorectal cancer patients. Instructions for completion as well as questions were well understood except the questions on the overall quality of life, overall health status and sexual activity. Thus we anticipate obtaining good psychometric properties for the instruments at the end of the study.

Quality of life in chronic disease patients

“…Although a major number of studies are referred to North America population, there are studies that investigate HRQoL of other cultures, too. 58,59,61 In contrast, symptomatic activity and sociodemographic variables such as gender and education, male with higher level of education and inactive disease, showed better HRQoL in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. 48 Additionally, urogenital conditions, hearing impairments, psychiatric disorders, and dermatologic conditions were found to result in relatively favourable functioning.…”

Psychometric Validation of the Malaysian Chinese Version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 in Colorectal Cancer Patients

“…A two-tailed probability value of 0.05 was used to determine the level of significance. Protocol for this study was published in the BMC cancer (Magaji et al, 2012).…”

Pattern of Health-Related Quality of Life and its Association among Patients with Colorectal Cancer

“…Those with mental impairment or mental illness and those unable to read or understand any of the two languages (Malaysian national language, Malaysian Chinese) were excluded from the study. The protocol of this study were validated and published elsewhere [13]. Informed consent was obtained from each patient before data collection.…”