The Queensland Cancer Risk Study: general population norms for the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G)

Objective: To derive Australian normative scores for the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐General Population (FACT‐GP) and to confirm its factor structure. Methods: Quality of life (QoL) data (as measured by the FACT‐GP) were collected within the Queensland Cancer Risk Study (QCRS) in 2004. The QCRS explored cancer screening and cancer risk behaviours among 9419 English‐speaking residents of Queensland aged 20–75 years. Information was collected through computer‐assisted telephone interviews and augmented by mailed, Self‐Administered Questionnaires (SAQ). A total of 2727 participants largely comparable to the general population of Queensland self‐completed the FACT‐GP; however, participants were somewhat higher educated, more likely to have had cancer and less likely to be of indigenous heritage. Results: The Queensland population reported a FACT‐GP summary score of 85.9 (SD=15.1), with subscale scores (range: 19.2 for social well‐being to 25.1 for physical well‐being (PWB)). In this study, men and women within different age groups reported similar QoL. QoL was clinically and significantly lower among participants not married, with a body mass index (BMI) deviating from normal weight and with one or more self‐reported morbidities. A four‐factor solution was confirmed with good goodness‐of‐fit indices (RSMEA<0.05 for all three age groups). Conclusions: The reference values from the general population reported here can be used for comparison with the QoL measured in populations of cancer patients, providing a benchmark against which clinicians can evaluate the impact of the disease and/or the treatments on QoL. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.