A Critical Review of Instruments Measuring the Quality of Life of Cancer Patients in Iranian Studies and Their Psychometrics Properties

Document Type : Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Authors

1 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.

2 Cancer Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

3 Meybod Nursing School, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.

4 Medical Library and Information Sciences, Mofid Children Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: Over the past three decades, more than 100 instruments have been developed that measure the quality of
life. In order to ensure accuracy and authenticity of the measurements, it is essential to utilize the instruments that have
proper psychometric properties. Therefore, this critical review study aimed at comparing the instruments that measured
the life quality of cancer patients in Iranian studies. Methods: In this study, Persian articles published in Iranian databases
(IranMedex, Irandoc Magiran, SID) from 2006 to 2016 were searched, using the following keywords: nursing, cancer,
tools, scale, and quality of life. A total number of 159 articles were obtained, of which 33 articles complied with the
inclusion criteria of this study and thereby were reviewed. Results: Sixty nine percent of the articles explored the life
quality of adult females with breast cancer, and the most-commonly used instrument was a quality-of-Life instrument
for use in international clinical trials in oncology belonging to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of
Cancer. More than half of the studies referred solely to Iranian studies to address psychometric properties. Though, no
method was introduced in order to address the validity and reliability of instruments in the articles under consideration.
Conclusion: According to the findings, the studies which explored the validity and reliability of instruments concerning
the life quality of cancer patients were scarce. Therefore, the researchers should pay further attention to the validity
and reliability of instruments for selection of an appropriate instrument in this area of research. Also, the researchers
are encouraged to further study the psychometric properties of relevant instruments so that optimal generalizability
and authenticity of their findings can be attained.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
Volume 20, Issue 2
February 2019
Pages 333-343

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History

  • Receive Date: 20 April 2018
  • Revise Date: 03 November 2018
  • Accept Date: 26 December 2018

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