The UCLA Prostate Cancer Index
Development, Reliability, and Validity of a Health-Related Quality of Life Measure
Published in: Medical Care, v. 36, no. 7, July 1998, p. 1002-1012
Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 1998
The need for accurate measures of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in men treated for prostate cancer is of paramount importance because patients may survive for many years after their diagnosis. Hence, interest has increased in choosing treatments that optimize both the quality and quantity of life in patients with this disease. This study sought to develop and evaluate a self-administered, multi-item, disease-specific instrument to capture the health concerns central to the quality of life of men treated for early stage prostate cancer. The UCLA Prostate Cancer Index performed well in this population of older men with and without prostate cancer. It demonstrated good psychometric properties and appeared to be well understood and easily completed. The high response among patients suggests that these men especially are interested in addressing both the general and disease-specific concerns that impact their daily quality of life.
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