Phase 1–3 of the cross‐cultural development of an EORTC questionnaire for the assessment of sexual health in cancer patients: the EORTC SHQ‐22

Abstract

To develop and pretest an European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Sexual Health Questionnaire (EORTC SHQ‐22) for the assessment of physical, psychological, and social aspects of sexual health (SH) in male and female cancer patients and survivors. Questionnaire construction started with creating a list of relevant SH issues based on a comprehensive literature review. Issues were subsequently evaluated for relevance and prioritization by 78 healthcare professionals (HCP) and 107 patients from 12 countries during in‐depth interviews (phase 1). Extracted issues were operationalized into items (phase 2). Phase 3 focused on pretesting the preliminary questionnaire in a cross‐cultural patient sample (n = 171) using debriefing interviews. Psychometric properties were preliminary determined using a principal component analysis and Cronbach's alpha. We derived 53 relevant SH issues from the literature. Based on HCP and patient interviews, 22 of these 53 issues were selected and operationalized into items. Testing the preliminary 22‐item short questionnaire resulted in a change of wording in five items and two communication‐related items; no items were removed. Preliminary psychometric analysis revealed a two‐factor solution and 11 single items; both scales showed good reliability indicated by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 (sexual satisfaction) and 0.82 (sexual pain). Cross‐cultural pretesting of the preliminary EORTC SH questionnaire has indicated excellent applicability, patient acceptance, and comprehensiveness as well as good psychometric properties. The final development phase, that is psychometric validation (phase four) including large‐scale, cross‐cultural field testing of the EORTC SHQ‐22, has commenced.

Effect of Stepped Care on Sexual Interest and Enjoyment in Distressed Patients with Head and Neck Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Such a sexual health questionnaire is currently being developed in accordance with EORTC guidelines. 32,33 When the psychometric qualities of this measure are established, it can be used to evaluate interventions or to tailor and monitor care.…”

Unmet needs in sexual health in bladder cancer patients: a systematic review of the evidence

“…However, there is no single self-reported measure that covers the entire range of sexual health. Recently, the European Organization on Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) developed an EORTC Sexual Health Questionnaire (EORTC SHQ-22) for assessing sexual health in cancer patients [28]. In addition to that, HRQOL assessment should target patient's current or very recent HRQOL status.…”

Differences in health care professionals' and cancer patients' views on sexual health issues

“…The EORTC QoL Group is developing a multilingual, self‐report measure to assess treatment‐related sexual health issues of cancer patients and survivors following the EORTC guidelines . The developmental stages of the EORTC SHQ‐22 have been described previously . This project has been conducted in a multicultural setting including 12 countries (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, NL, Poland, Spain, Taiwan, and UK).…”