Abstract
BackgroundIn oncology practice, eliciting the patient’s perspective on their quality of life (QOL) adds important information and value to their treatment and care. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QOL questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) is the most commonly used tool for this purpose but has not been validated in Kenya. The present study aimed to conduct a preliminary assessment of the QOL among Kenyan cancer patients and examine the psychometric properties of the tool in this population.One hundred patients with heterogeneous types of cancer were enrolled in this cross-sectional study between July and August 2019. The EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire was administered to patients using either the English or Kiswahili official version. Descriptive statistics were used to assess patient demographics and clinical characteristics. The psychometric properties of the EORTC QLQ-C30 were evaluated in terms of acceptability, internal consistency, and construct validity using statistical software packages, STATA and SPSS.ResultsThe EORTC QLQ-C30 was found to be acceptable for use in our patient population as indicated by high compliance and low missing responses. Of the 100 patients, 66 were able to self-administer the questionnaire. The average time for completion was 13 min. Preliminary QOL assessment indicated an average QOL in Kenyan cancer patients (53 ± 27). Among the function scales, participants scored the lowest on the social function scale (51 ± 36) whereas among the symptom scales, participants scored the highest on the financial difficulties scale (79 ± 31). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient values ranged from 0.72–0.95, illustrating the reliability of the scales measured. Interscale correlations were statistically significant (p < 0.05), indicating clinical validity of the data collected. The magnitudes of the correlations between the physical functioning scale and the role functioning, pain, and fatigue scales were consistent with the values published in other studies across different geographical populations, further cross-validating the results from our study.ConclusionThe results from this study provide important first insights into using EORTC QLQ-C30 in the Kenyan population. We conclude that the questionnaire is an acceptable, reliable, and valid instrument for measuring the QOL in cancer patients in Kenya and recommend its use in clinical practice.
Highlights
In oncology practice, eliciting the patient’s perspective on their quality of life (QOL) adds important information and value to their treatment and care
Patient characteristics Of the 110 filled questionnaires obtained from patients at the Cancer and Chronic Diseases Centre (CCCDC) clinic, 100 were considered evaluable for acceptability, reliability, and validity after verification of the questionnaires for completeness of essential data and accuracy
80% of the patients were on treatment at the time of data collection
Summary
In oncology practice, eliciting the patient’s perspective on their quality of life (QOL) adds important information and value to their treatment and care. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QOL questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) is the most commonly used tool for this purpose but has not been validated in Kenya. The present study aimed to conduct a preliminary assessment of the QOL among Kenyan cancer patients and examine the psychometric properties of the tool in this population. The psychometric properties of the EORTC QLQ-C30 were evaluated in terms of acceptability, internal consistency, and construct validity using statistical software packages, STATA and SPSS. Since opening in 2009, the Chandaria Cancer and Chronic Diseases Centre (CCCDC) clinic, located at MTRH, has seen over 13,000 cancer patients. Due to several challenges including lack of expertise at peripheral facilities, socioeconomic limitations, as well as cultural beliefs and norms, many patients present with advanced disease, at which point, the impetus is on providing supportive and palliative care rather than treatment options
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