Psychometric properties of the Dutch extended Cancer Survivors’ Unmet Needs measure (CaSUN-NL)

Abstract

Information and support needs increase emotional distress and can impede cancer survivors’ adjustment. To investigate the information and support needs of Dutch cancer survivors, the Cancer Survivors’ Unmet Needs measure (CaSUN) was translated into Dutch and applied in two Dutch studies with cancer survivors (N = 255; N = 467). The CaSUN‐NL entailed the original five CaSUN scales, extended with respectively a returning to work and lifestyle scale. This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the CaSUN‐NL. To assess validity, a maximum likelihood factor analysis was employed. Construct validity was analysed using Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients. To assess reliability, test–retest (Kappa coefficient) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) values were determined. Factor analysis revealed the original five factors. Test–retest reliability was low (r ≤ .15, 93% retest response). Internal consistency values were high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92–0.94), except for lifestyle. Significant correlations were found between total number of unmet needs with anxiety (r = .55), depression (r = .49), negative adjustment (r = .50), quality of life (r = −.52) and age (r = −.24). The CaSUN‐NL is valid and reliable to investigate the unmet information and support needs of Dutch cancer survivors.

Evaluation of psychometric properties of needs assessment tools in cancer patients: A systematic literature review

“…[54] Of those, 4 studies recruited breast cancer patients, [46–48,51] and 4 other studies recruited subjects with head and neck cancer, prostate cancer, hematological cancer, and lung cancer, respectively. [49,50,52,53] Moreover, 8 studies were carried out in inpatient setting, [29,30,35,44–46,52,53] 17 in outpatient setting, [14–16,23,25,28,32–36,39,40,47,48,51,52] 8 in inpatient and outpatient settings, [22,24,27,38,41,42,45,46] and 4 studies did not report where the study was conducted. [13,29,31,54] (Table 1)…”

“…The reliability, responsiveness and validity assessment of the included instruments were presented in S3 and S4 Tables, respectively. Regarding the quality of measurement properties, internal consistency was evaluated in 32 studies with 9 studies showing negative rating [16,23,31,32,34,40,43,51,53] and 4 studies indeterminate rating. [28,29,36,42] Less than half of the studies assessed test-retest reliability (13/37, 35.1%), and only 4 studies showed positive scoring.…”

“…[14,16,25,28–34,38,40–42,45,51] Cross-cultural validity results were obtained in 13 studies with 7 studies indicating negative rating. [28,30,32–34,48,49] No information was found on criterion validity. In addition, only one study tested responsiveness and showed intermediate scoring (Table 3).…”

“…[27] CaSUN also reported strong or moderate evidence for 5 measurement properties (internal consistency, reliability, content validity, structural validity and hypothesis testing) (Table 4). [14,32,33]…”

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the cancer survivors’ unmet needs measure among gynecological cancer patients in Indonesia

“…They are mostly qualitative studies (10)(11)(12) or small-scale cross-sectional studies (13) focusing on the psychosocial problems. The studies indicated that the Indonesian gynecological cancer survivors experienced a high level of fear of cancer recurrence (13), altered selfconcept (11), altered sexual function and intimate relationships (10,11), as well as physical discomfort (11). A phenomenology study conducted in province in Indonesia found that one of the cervical cancer survivors' needs to survive from cancer was the support from the family and the health care providers.…”