OBJECTIVE: The University of Washington Quality of Life
(UW-QOL) questionnaire is one of the most widely used instruments
to evaluate the quality of life of head and neck cancer
patients. The aim of this study was to perform a Spanish translation
and validation of the UW-QOL questionnaire.
STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study.
SETTING: Three tertiary-care hospitals and a laryngectomee
rehabilitation center.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The translation and cultural
adaptation of the questionnaire were performed following accepted
international guidelines. The psychometric validation
was performed on a consecutive series of patients treated for
squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract with
no signs of relapse, recruited from May 2013 to December
- Eligible subjects were invited to complete the Spanish
version of the UW-QOL questionnaire during routine clinical
consultation, and complete it again within 15 days. Subjects
also completed a validated Spanish version of the Goldberg
Mental Health Survey and were evaluated by the use of the
Karnofsky Index.
RESULTS: A Spanish version of the questionnaire was developed
in iterative fashion. In the psychometric validation process, a
total of 76 patients were analyzed. Reliability was excellent, including
both internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.84) and
test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient between
0.91 and 0.97 with a confidence interval of 95%). Construct validity
was supported by statistically significant relationships between
theKarnofsky Index, the Goldberg Mental Health Survey,
and the translated UW-QOL questionnaire.
CONCLUSION: The Spanish version of the UW-QOL questionnaire
appears to be culturally appropriate and psychometrically valid.