Psychometric analysis of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) scale in a rural sample.
BACKGROUND
Quality of life for persons with cancer has been studied extensively in urban populations. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) scale was developed for use in clinical trials. The authors tested the psychometric properties of the FACT-G scale in a sample of rural cancer patients.


METHODS
A systematic replication of the 1993 study by Cella et al., in which FACT-G was developed, was employed to assess the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the scale.


RESULTS
The reliability and validity of the FACT-G scale for evaluating rural cancer patients was determined to be sufficient for research purposes. The factor structure was the same as that reported by Cella et al.


CONCLUSIONS
The FACT-G scale is appropriate for use in studies of the quality of life of rural cancer patients.
Winstead-Fry
P
P
School of Nursing, University of Vermont, Burlington 05405, USA.
Schultz
A
A
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008281:Maine; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012424:Rural Population; D014707:Vermont