PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE TURKISH VERSION OF THE FACIT-DYSPNEA SCALE IN CANCER PATIENTS

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Dyspnea Short Form in patients with cancer.Methods: Fifty-two patients with cancer with complaint of dyspnea were included in the study.The validity and reliability of the FACIT-Dyspnea were evaluated via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, construct validity, internal consistency [Cronbach's alpha ()], test-retest reliability [intraclass correlation coefficient, (ICC)], item-total correlations and split-half tests.For construct validity, correlations between FACIT-Dyspnea and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), Performance Scale, Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale, Cancer Dyspnea Scale and EuroQol 5-Dimension 3-Level questionnaire (EuroQoL-5D-3L) were examined.Results: Factor Analyses results showed that the FACIT-Dyspnea has a unifactorial structure, with all items having high factor loadings.Significant correlations were found between the FACIT-Dyspnea and the ECOG, Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale, Cancer Dyspnea Scale, and EuroQoL-5D-3L scores (p< 0.05).Cronbach's of the FACIT-Dyspnea was found to be 0.973 and ICC was 0.85.Item-total correlations for items in the FACIT-Dyspnea ranged from 0.695 to 0.948.In the split-half test, the Cronbach's for the first part of the FACIT-Dyspnea was 0.937 and for the second part was 0.955. Conclusion:The Turkish version of FACIT-Dyspnea is valid and reliable in patients with cancer and is suitable for use by researchers and clinicians.