The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire-BR23 Breast Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire: psychometric properties in a Moroccan sample of breast cancer patients.
BACKGROUND
Quality of life (QOL) and its measurement in cancer patients is becoming increasingly important. Breast cancer diagnosis and treatment are often associated with psychological distress and reduced QoL. In Arabic-speaking countries, QoL of patients with cancer is inadequately studied.The aim of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Moroccan Arabic version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Breast Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-BR23).


METHODS
After translation and cross-cultural adaptation, the questionnaire was tested on breast cancer patients. The participants' number for the test and the retest were 105 and 37 respectively. Internal consistency was tested using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α), the test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Construct validity was assessed by examining item-convergent and divergent validity.


RESULTS
The questionnaire was administered to 105 patients. The mean age of patients was 48 years (SD: 16), 62.9% were married. 68.6% of all participants lived in urban area.The average time to complete the QLQ- BR23 was 15 min. Cronbach's alpha coefficient, were all >0.7, with the exception of breast symptoms and arm symptoms. All items exceeded the 0.4 criterion for convergent validity except item 20 and 23 related to pain and skin problems in the affected breast respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
In general, the findings of this study indicated that the Moroccan Arabic version of the EORTC QLQ-BR23 is a reliable and valid supplementary measure of the QOL in breast cancer patients and can be used in clinical trials and studies of outcome research in oncology.
Department of epidemiology and public health, Faculty of Medicine, University Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco. elfakirsamira@yahoo.fr.
Samira
S
El Fakir
Naima
N
Abda
Karima
K
Bendahhou
Ahmed
A
Zidouh
Maria
M
Bennani
Hassan
H
Errihani
Abdelatif
A
Benider
Rachid
R
Bekkali
Chakib
C
Nejjari
D018912:Arabs / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003469:Culture; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008875:Middle Aged; D009018:Morocco; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D013609:Taboo; D014175:Translating