Short-form quality care questionnaire-palliative care has acceptable measurement properties in Brazilian cancer patients

Abstract

Background Our objective was to perform the translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the Quality Care Questionnaire-Palliative Care (QCQ-PC) into Brazilian Portuguese for cancer patients in palliative care. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation comprised the following stages: translation, synthesis of translations, back-translation, analysis by a committee of experts, testing of the pre-final version, and definition of the final version. The evaluated measurement properties were: structural validity using factor analysis, test–retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha, and construct validity using the correlations between the QCQ-PC and other questionnaires already validated in Brazil. Results Two hundred and twenty-five cancer patients were included for validity analyses, and a subsample of 30 patients was used for test–retest reliability. The most adequate fit indexes were for the short version of the QCQ-PC (SF-QCQ-PC), with two domains and 12 items. There was adequate reliability and internal consistency, with values of the ICC ≥ 0.83 and Cronbach’s alpha ≥0.82. There were correlations > 0.30 between the SF-QCQ-PC and the Karnofsky Performance Scale, the Palliative Prognostic Index, the sadness domain of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, the Barthel Index, and all domains related to the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire and the European Organization for Research in the Treatment of Cancer Questionnaire-core. Conclusion The short version of the SF-QCQ-PC has acceptable psychometric properties for use in Brazil.

Brazilian version of the Neck Bournemouth Questionnaire does not have a well-defined internal structure in patients with chronic neck pain

“…Since the nature of the Neck Bournemouth Questionnaire score is ordinal (11-point scale), we performed factor analysis based on a matrix generated by means of polychoric correlations 20 and used the robust diagonally weighted least squares extraction method, as recommended by specialized literature. 5,16,17,[21][22][23]…”

Barthel Index is a valid and reliable tool to measure the functional independence of cancer patients in palliative care

“…Quality of life and quality of care are health aspects commonly evaluated in cancer patients in palliative care [1,2]. In addition to these measures, the assessment of the functional status is common in the clinical routine of these patients as it indicates the patient's ability to maintain independence through their performance in activities of daily living [3,4].…”

“…This scale was proposed in a book in 1949, consisting of 11 items ranging from 0 (full well-being) to 100% (death) [5]. The score can be categorized as follows: Group A (100%-80%), patient can perform daily activities independently; Group B (70%-50%), patient can perform daily activities with help; Group C (< 40%), patient requires continuous assistance and approaches death progressively [1,6].…”