title: Validation of the University of Washington Quality of Life Chinese Version (UWQOL-C) for head and neck cancer patients in Taiwan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purposes of this three-phase study were to: (1) translate and evaluate the burden, content, and face validity of the Chinese version of the University of Washington Quality of Life Scale, version 4 (UWQOL-v4-C); and (2) examine the psychometric properties of the UWQOL-v4-C in oral cancer and laryngeal cancer patients in Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  This instrument translation and validation study was part of a major research project. The first phase of this study developed and validated the content of the UWQOL-v4-C. The second phase sought to validate the internal consistency, reliability, and construct and discriminant validity in two major groups of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients: oral cavity cancers (n=109) and laryngeal cancer (n=102). Construct validity was measured using theoretically supported correlations between the UWQOL and related constructs. Discriminant validity was also assessed. In the third phase, test-retest reliability of UWQOL-v4-C was examined through the 1-week interval in another group of HNC patients (n=50).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The translated UWQOL-v4-C demonstrated satisfactory face validity, content validity, and minimal patient burden. Additionally, the UWQOL-v4-C showed excellent construct validity in patient testing, supported by significant correlations between the UWQOL-v4-C and hypothesized constructs, including generic measures of QOL and performance status. The developed scale correlated inversely with symptom severity and psychological distress. Discriminant validity was seen in patients with different cancer diagnoses, stages, and treatments. Finally, excellent stability was supported by a 1-week test-retest reliability of 0.88.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The UWQOL-v4-C was a brief, low-burden, and valid instrument to measure the QOL in Chinese-speaking HNC patients in Taiwan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Mackay Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yun-Hsiang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Nursing, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Nursing, National Taiwan University Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: laiyhwk@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Yeur-Hur
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Bevan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yueh
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Otolaryngology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pen-Yuan
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Da-Yeh University, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Ju
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Ching
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Cheng-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D014175:Translating
keywords: UWQOL Chinese version; head and neck cancer; quality of life