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Background: Various generic instruments exist to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with tuberculosis (TB), but a psychometrically sound disease-specific instrument is lacking., Objectives: The present study aimed to develop and psychometrically validate a multidimensional TB-specific HRQOL instrument relevant to the value of patients with pulmonary TB in Iraq with an eye toward cross-cultural application., Methods: The core general HRQOL questionnaire is composed of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General items. A modular approach was followed for the development of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Tuberculosis (FACIT-TB) questionnaire in which a set of items assessing quality-of-life (QOL) issues not sufficiently covered by the core Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General items, but considered to be relevant to the target population, was added. Moreover, principal-component analysis was used to determine the new subscale structure of the questionnaire., Results: In addition to the 27 items of the core questionnaire, a set of 20 items referring to disease symptoms related to the site of infection, adverse effects, and additional QOL dimensions such as fatigue, social stigma, and economic burden of the illness was included. Factor analysis demonstrated that the FACIT-TB construct comprised five domains., Conclusions: A rigorous method was applied in the development of the FACIT-TB measure to fully understand the impact of TB on patients' QOL. The instrument is psychometrically sound and portrays multiple important dimensions of HRQOL. FACIT-TB is relatively brief, is easy to administer and score, and is appropriate for use in clinical trials and practice., (Copyright © 2015 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To determine how tuberculosis (TB) treatment affects the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of patients with pulmonary TB and to identify the predictors of favourable TB treatment outcomes in Baghdad, Iraq., Methods: The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Tuberculosis (FACIT-TB), a new TB-specific quality of life instrument derived from the internationally recognized FACIT measurement system for the assessment of HRQL, was administered. The mean total and subscale scores of the FACIT-TB at baseline, end of the intensive phase, and end of TB treatment were compared., Results: After the 2-month intensive phase, physical well-being, functional well-being, and the overall total scores were significantly increased (p<0.01). Furthermore, at completion of TB treatment, there were significant improvements in the overall HRQL as indicated by the FACIT-TB total score and all subscales, except social and economic well-being and spiritual well-being. In a direct logistic regression model, only the FACIT-TB total score made a statistically significant contribution towards predicting the likelihood that a patient would have a favourable TB treatment outcome., Conclusions: Therapeutic intervention had a positive impact on patient HRQL. We conclude that FACIT-TB is a reliable tool to monitor HRQL during the course of TB treatment., (Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)