Validation of the Chinese Version of the Good Death Inventory for Evaluating End-of-Life Care From the Perspective of the Bereaved Family

Context: It is essential to evaluate good death of patients with cancer. However, currently, there is no validated measurement tool available in Mainland China. Objectives: To validate the Chinese version of the Good Death Inventory (GDI). Methods: An online survey was distributed to the bereaved family members of patients with cancer (from 10 medical institutes) who died between January 2014 and December 2016. The survey included the demographic characteristics of the patients and their family members, the Chinese version of the GDI, overall satisfaction of family members regarding the end-of-life care, as well as the patients' overall quality of death and dying, and overall quality of life. Results: A total of 305 valid responses were analyzed. The average score of the GDI was 241.20 ± 39.45. The Cronbach's α coefficient of the GDI was 0.896 overall and ranged from 0.561 to 0.950 for the subdomains. The fit indices for the original 18-factor model were acceptable: root mean square error of approximation = 0.044, Comparative Fit Index = 0.900, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.892, and standardized root mean square residual = 0.073. The total scores of the GDI were moderately correlated with overall satisfaction with medical care (r = 0.411, P < 0.01), patient's quality of life (r = 0.468, P < 0.01), and quality of death and dying (r = 0.441, P < 0.01). Conclusions: The psychometric characteristics of the Chinese version of the GDI indicate that this questionnaire is reliable and valid. It can be used as a tool for the assessment of quality of death and dying of patients with cancer among the Chinese population.