General population and cancer patient norms for the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G)

Eval Health Prof. 2005 Jun;28(2):192-211. doi: 10.1177/0163278705275341.

Abstract

Given the number of new cancer cases diagnosed each year and the increases in survival rates, the importance of having a clinically useful health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instrument has increased. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) is one such instrument that has been used worldwide to assess HRQOL. Previously, the use of the FACT-G had been limited because of a lack of published normative data. Normative data are useful for consumers to place their results in an appropriate context by comparing their scores of individuals or group of individuals to a reference group. Here, we present normative data for the FACT-G for two reference groups: (a) a sample of the general U.S. adult population and (b) a large, heterogeneous sample of adult patients with cancer. In addition, we demonstrate various uses of the normative data.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms / psychology*
  • Psychometrics
  • Quality of Life*
  • Reference Values
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • United States