Purpose: To develop and validate a new multimedia instrument to measure health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in\nPortuguese-speaking patients with cancer.\nMethods: A mixed-methods study conducted in a large Brazilian Cancer Hospital. The instrument was developed\nalong the following sequential phases: identification of HRQOL issues through qualitative content analysis of individual\ninterviews, evaluation of the most important items according to the patients, review of the literature, evaluation\nby an expert committee, and pretesting. In sequence, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted (pilot\ntesting, n = 149) to reduce the number of items and to define domains and scores. The psychometric properties of\nthe IQualiV-OG-21 were measured in a large multicentre Brazilian study (n = 323). A software containing multimedia\nresources were developed to facilitate self-administration of IQualiV-OG-21; its feasibility and patientsââ?¬â?¢ preferences\n(ââ?¬Å?paper and pencilââ?¬Â vs. software) were further tested (n = 54).\nResults: An exploratory factor analysis reduced the 30-item instrument to 21 items. The IQualiV-OG-21 was divided\ninto 6 domains: emotional, physical, existential, interpersonal relationships, functional and financial. The multicentre\nstudy confirmed that it was valid and reliable. The electronic multimedia instrument was easy to complete and\nacceptable to patients. Regarding preferences, 61.1 % of them preferred the electronic format in comparison with the\npaper and pencil format.\nConclusions: The IQualiV-OG-21 is a new valid and reliable multimedia HRQOL instrument that is well-understood,\neven by patients with low literacy skills, and can be answered quickly. It is a useful new tool that can be translated and\ntested in other cultures and languages.
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