Quality of Life Using the Korean Version of McMaster Quality of Life Scale in Hospice and Palliative Care Patients

Abstract

Purpose:This study was to measure quality of life in hospice and palliative care patients. Methods: Research tools were the Korean version of McMaster quality of life scale and Spitzer's quality of life index used by 11 doctors in 7 institutes related to hospice and palliative care. Research subjects were 70 terminal cancer patients. Results: There was no statistically significant differences in the Korean version MQLS score by test-retest method. Cronbach's alpha was 0.90. The Pearson correlation coefficient for concurrent validity between the Korean version MQLS score and QLI score by physicians showed a moderate level of statistically significant correlation (r=0.55, P=0.002). The Korean version MQLS score of terminal cancer patients group in hospital ward of hospice was significantly higher than the others (F=4.958, P=0.004). Total scores of the Korean version MQLS (Mean± SD=3.79±0.74) and QLI (Mean±SD=4.58±1.63) showed moderate scores. Conclusion: The Korean version MQLS would be a reliable methods for the measurement of quality of life in Korean palliative care patients. The research tool would be satisfactorily used for assessment of hospice and palliative care patients during palliative phase. (Korean J Hosp Palliat Care 2010;13:225-231)