Spiritual Well-Being for Croatian Cancer Patients: Validation and Applicability of the Croatian Version of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32

Abstract

Spiritual well-being is a recognized predictor of health-related quality of life in palliative patients. No research in Croatia has yet addressed this field. This study, the first of its kind in Croatia, validated a Croatian translation of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32 measure of spiritual well-being with curative Croatian oncology patients and assessed its use and value. The study was conducted between July 2019 and January 2020 at the Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, University Hospital Rijeka, with 143 cancer patients, using the linguistically validated Croatian version of the measure. All patients found the measure acceptable. Confirmatory factor analysis aligned with the structure found in previous studies. Cronbach’s alpha confirmed internal consistency. Female participants scored higher on the RSG (Relationship with Someone or Something Greater), RG (Relationship with God), and EX (Existential) scales, and on Global-SWB. Patients with breast and gynecological tumors scored higher on RG. Older patients scored lower on RSG, RG and EX. Retirees and those with below-average incomes scored lower on EX. Participants who identified as having no religion scored lower on RSG. Stage I cancer patients scored higher on RG. The Croatian version of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32 is an acceptable, valid, and reliable measure of SWB for Croatian cancer patients.

Validation of the Vietnamese version of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32: A measure of spiritual well-being in cancer patients

“…Meanwhile, sentence I8, "I feel able to share thoughts about life with people close to me," had the strongest loading in EX (0.371), and the factor loading in the RO group was less strong (0.323). Our research results contrasted with those of previous studies, showing the strongest factor loading of I8 in the RO group and being less strong in the EX group [16,25]. The emotional state of cancer patients during this time could be observed.…”

“…We found that this measurement was easy to understand and accepted by patients, being used to quantify SWB widely in Vietnam. The results were similar to other studies around the world [16,25].…”

“…The results of the reliability analysis showed that Cronbach's alpha coe cients of the scales were all higher than the threshold of acceptance, ranging from 0.60 to 0.74. This result was quite similar to other language versions of Dabo et al [25], however, it was lower when compared with the reliability value in the international study [16] and the study on Chinese women with gynecological cancer [26]. We found that this measurement was easy to understand and accepted by patients, being used to quantify SWB widely in Vietnam.…”

“…For age, we did not nd a statistically signi cant difference between age and the RO, RS, or EX scales. Interestingly, the nding was same as that of Dabo et al [25], in which the RSG scale score was the lowest for the oldest participants (p < 0.05). For older people with cancer, it seems that their beliefs in things like meditating, being attentive about having someone pray for them, and believing in life in the afterlife are no longer important.…”

“…There was a difference in the proportions of men and women; however, there was no distinction among women and men in any scales, which was inconsistent with previous studies. Most other studies showed that women scored higher than men in relationships with others, with themselves, and with belief in someone or something greater [16, 24,25,29,30]. This inconsistency among the Vietnamese and other cultural areas can be explained by the fact that in general, there are similarities in prevalence and determinants of mental health indicators between women and men, especially for older people [18,31].…”