title: Cross-cultural validation of an international questionnaire, the General Measure of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy scale (FACT-G), for Japanese.
abstract: The General Measure of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy scale (FACT-G) was developed in an English-speaking culture (USA). To determine if FACT-G could be used in Japan, a cross-cultural validation was performed. The Japanese version was created through an iterative forward-backward translation sequence used throughout the FACT multi-lingual translation project. In evaluating psychometric testing, its construct validity was investigated by factor analysis and multi-trait scaling analysis. Clinical validity was estimated by known-groups comparison using stage, performance score (PS) and patient location, and validated longitudinally by PS. The FACT-G (version 3) was given to 180 patients with lung cancer. Analyses showed that the scales of Physical, Functional, Emotional Well-Being, and Relationship with Doctors were constructively valid in Japan. Japanese patients felt that familial relationships were different than those with friends and neighbors, indicating that the Social/Family Well-Being scale needed cultural adaptation. Two items concerning coping with illness and acceptance of illness did not load predictably onto their respective scales and were considered to be cross-culturally problematic. However, clinical validity demonstrated its sensitivity. Japanese version 4 has been improved to address the weakness in an attempt to become an instrument that is applicable across cultures.
authors.affiliation: East Japan Chesters Group (EJCG), Department of Respiratory Medicine, Respiratory Section, Saitama Cancer Center, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fumimoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eremenco
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujiki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uemura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohashi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kudoh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires