Purpose

The primary aim of the questionnaire is to assess the quality of life in patients at the final stage of cancer.

Key Characteristics

The Quality of Life Questionnaire in End Stage Patients [QLQESP-30] includes six main multi-item subscales, which assess:
Functional activity
Self-care
Health condition
Support
Communication
Psychological state
It also contains:
One qualitative question in the “therapeutic treatment” subscale, and
One global question evaluating overall quality of life.

Scoring

Responses on the QLQESP-30 are given on a 3-point scale:
1 = Yes
2 = Maybe
3 = No
The qualitative question in the “therapeutic treatment” subscale asks patients to select and rank the most important reasons for choosing a given treatment option (1 = most important, 5 = least important).
The overall quality of life is assessed on an 11-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 = very poor to 10 = excellent.

Statistical Analysis

Higher scores in the subscales indicate worse reactions or poorer conditions.
In contrast, a higher score in the overall quality of life question corresponds to a better perceived quality of life.
Validity and Reliability
Validity is supported by four types of analyses:
Comparison with the ECOG Performance Status Scale

Factor analysis

Criterion-related validity
Correlations with two other quality of life instruments:
The Assessment of Quality of Life in Palliative Care Instrument (AQEL)
The EORTC Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer
Reliability:
All subscales demonstrated internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach’s α ≥ 0.70) either before or during palliative care treatment.
Test-retest reliability showed satisfactory Spearman-rho correlation coefficients (p < 0.05), indicating consistent results over time.

References

Mystakidou, K., Tsilika, E., Kouloulias, V., Parpa, E., Katsouda, E., Kouvaris, J., & Vlahos, L. (2004).
The “Palliative Care Quality of Life Instrument (PQLI)” in terminal cancer patients.
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2(1), 1–13.