Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Quality of Life in Patients Premalignant and Malignant Cervix Pathology

Abstract

The concept of quality of life (QOL) become a used notion in the medical research and is considered a dynamic, multidimensional and subjective construct. There is no universal instrument for evaluating all the QOL facets by populations, pathologies and treatments, the choice of certain measurement instruments is done according to the objectives and outcomes of the research. The aim of this study was to to test the factorial structure, reliability and convergent validity of health related quality of life scale using EORTC QLQ-C30 instrument for the Romanian population of patients with pre-malignant and malignant cervical pathology. Data from a convenience sample consisted of 102 women of reproductive age, treated at “Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuta” Institute of Oncology (IOCN), Cluj-Napoca, during 2007-2012, for premalignant and malignant pathology of the cervix, namely high grade dysplasia and microinvasive carcinoma with conservative surgery (cervical conization) were analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis. Two alternative measurement models were tested for statistical model fit to the sample data. The fit of models was analyzed by χ² goodness-of-fit test and descriptive goodness-of-fit indices. Both models showed an acceptable fit to data and a good reliability and convergent validity. Confirmatory factor analysis brought two new measurement HRQOL models.