Patient‐reported outcome measures for dysphagia in head and neck cancer: A systematic review and appraisal of content validity and internal structure

Abstract

Dysphagia is a major head and neck cancer (HNC) issue. Dysphagia‐related patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) are critical for patient‐centred assessment and intervention tailoring. This systematic review aimed to derive a comprehensive inventory of HNC dysphagia PROMs and appraise their content validity and internal structure. Six electronic databases were searched to February 2023 for studies detailing PROM content validity or internal structure. Eligible PROMs were those developed or validated for HNC, with ≥20% of items related to swallowing. Two independent raters screened citations and full‐text articles. Critical appraisal followed COSMIN guidelines. Overall, 114 studies were included, yielding 39 PROMs (17 dysphagia‐specific and 22 generic). Of included studies, 33 addressed PROM content validity and 78 internal structure. Of all PROMs, only the SOAL met COSMIN standards for both sufficient content validity and internal structure. Notably, the development of 18 PROMs predated the publication of COSMIN standards. In conclusion, this review identified 39 PROMs addressing dysphagia in HNC, of which only one met COSMIN quality criteria. Given that half of PROMs were developed prior to COSMIN guidelines, future application of current standards is needed to establish their psychometric quality.