Analyses of the Studies on Cancer-Related Quality of Life Published in Korea

Lee, Eun Hyun; Park, Hee Boong; Kim, Myung Wook; Kang, Sunghee; Lee, Hye Jin; Lee, Won Hee; Chun, Mison

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to analyze and evaluate prior studies published in Korea on the cancer-related quality of life, in order to make recommendations for further research.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 31 studies were selected from three different databases. The selected studies were analyzed according to 11 criteria, such as site of cancer, domain, independent variable, research design, self/proxy rating, single/battery instrument, translation/back translation, reliability, validity, scoring, and findings.
RESULTS
Of the 31 studies, approximately half of them were conducted using a mixed cancer group of patients. Many of the studies asserted that the concept of quality of life had a multidimensional attribute. Approximately 30% were longitudinal design studies giving information about the changes in quality of life. In all studies, except one, patients directly rated their level of quality of life. With respect to the questionnaires used for measuring the quality of life, most studies did not consider whether or not their reliability and validity had been established. In addition, when using questionnaires developed in other languages, no studies employed a translation/ back-translation technique. All studies used sum or total scoring methods when calculating the level of quality of life. The types of variables tested for their influence on quality of life were quite limited.
CONCLUSION
It is recommended that longitudinal design studies be performed, using methods of data collection whose validity and reliability has been confirmed, and that studies be conducted to identify new variables having an influence on the quality of life.