Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation
-
Comparative Study
Validation of Chinese Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) in patients scheduled for total knee replacement.
Our aim was to cross-culturally validate Chinese Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) scheduled for total knee replacement in Singapore. ⋯ Chinese WOMAC was well accepted and demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties in Singaporean patients with severe knee OA.
-
Family caregiving is common and important in Taiwanese culture. However, the combination of anticipated loss, prolonged psychological distress, and the physical demands of caregiving can seriously compromise the quality of life (QOL) of a family caregiver (FC). The effect of caring for a dying cancer patient on a FC's QOL has been explored in western countries--primarily with small sample sizes or short-term follow-ups--but has not yet been investigated in Taiwan. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to: (1) identify the trajectory of the QOL of FCs of terminally ill cancer patients in Taiwan; and (2) investigate the determinants of the QOL of FCs, in a large sample and with longer follow-ups, until the patient dies. ⋯ Taiwanese FCs' QOL deteriorated significantly as the patient's death approached. This study contributes to the family caregiving literature by using longitudinal data to confirm that the available psychological resource of a FC and the 'appraisals of caregiving' are more salient in determining a FC's QOL than the patient's/FC's characteristics and the caregiving demands.
-
The objective of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Colorectal Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-CR38). ⋯ These preliminary results suggest that the Japanese EORTC QLQ-CR38 may be a reliable and valid supplementary measure of quality of life in colorectal cancer patients.
-
The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory(TM) 4.0 (PedsQL(TM) 4.0) as a population health outcome measure. ⋯ Present results support the reliability and validity of the PedsQL 4.0 Greek version. The instrument could be a valuable tool in HRQOL measurement in school health care settings and population-based studies in Greek-speaking children, though it should be stressed that when possible, the child should be considered the first informant of his/her HRQOL.
-
The present study examined (1) whether particular coping strategies used to deal with congestive heart failure (CHF) are related to meaning in life across time, and (2) whether meaning in life mediates the effect of coping on health-related quality of life. ⋯ These results add to accumulating evidence that life meaning is important in the context of living with a chronic, life-threatening illness. Further, coping--especially acceptance and religious coping--is related to increased life meaning over time in the context of life limiting illness.