Introduction:

Instruments for measuring quality of life must be validated before being used in different cultural contexts. There is a specific scale (FACT-Lym) to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with lymphoma, but it has not been validated in Colombia yet.

Objective:

To determine the clinimetric properties of the FACT-Lym scale in Colombian patients with lymphoma.

Materials and methods:

A validation study of a scale was conducted based on the classical test theory. The FACT-Lym scale was administered to 301 patients diagnosed with different types of lymphomas and treated at the National Cancer Institute of Colombia, and their sociodemographic and clinical data were recorded. The statistical analysis included exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, construct validity, internal consistency, test-re-test reliability and sensitivity to change.

Results:

The exploratory factor analysis confirmed a two-factor structure of the scale, while the confirmatory analysis showed adequate adjustment of the model. Internal consistency was measured using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient (>0.8 on the global scale and on each of the factors). Correlation values significantly different from zero were found between the FACT-Lym scale and the FACT-G scale domains. No significant changes were observed in any domain of the FACT-Lym scale after the completion or suspension of treatment.

Conclusions:

The validation of the FACT-Lym questionnaire in Colombia showed it has a consistent factorial structure and adequate reliability. However, its sensitivity to change should be verified by evaluating its performance in other patient groups.

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