CROSS-CULTURAL VALIDATION OF EXISTING QUALITY-OF-LIFE SCALES

Health care has recently tended to take a more global perspective when considering the individual patient. In addition to a measure of funct ional status, the integration of the disease into the daily life of th e individual, or his quality of life, is now being evaluated. This con cept, while relatively recent, is the result, in part, of changes in a ttitudes towards diagnosis and treatment of patients, particularly tho se with chronic and severe diseases. Over time, what is sought is a me asurement of change in the level of well-being during the evolution of an illness. In clinical trials, the different levels that exist betwe en 2 groups may be measured. The validation of a quality of life scale requires both a qualitative and a quantitative approach with attentio n being paid to the methodological issues in scale development. Specif ic statistical techniques are used to modify evolving versions. The cr oss-cultural adaptation of an existing scale into another language req uires a rigorous qualitative phase before the quantitative phase is be gun. The end product of this approach should be an equivalent scale, r ather than a literal translation.