Abstract CN14
Background
Oral anticancer agents (OAAs) can be effective in cancer control, but patients should conduct adequate self-care in managing OAAs and related toxicities to improve their quality of life. However, tools are lacking for measuring self-care behaviours in cancer patients on OAAs. The aim of this study was to develop a new self-reported instrument, the Self-Care of Oral Anticancer Agents Index (SCOAAI) and to test its content validity.
Methods
SCOAAI items were developed according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) criteria. The Middle Range Theory of Self-Care of Chronic Illnesses was used to guide item development, including self-care maintenance (i.e. behaviours to maintain condition stability), self-care monitoring (i.e. behaviours to monitor OAAs side effects) and self-care management (i.e. patients’ responses to deal with OAAs side effects). A literature review and qualitative interviews with patients and healthcare professionals were conducted to develop SCOAAI-specific items and to assess their comprehensibility and comprehensiveness. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated.
Results
A first version of the SCOAAI included 44 items. Patients participating in the cognitive interviews (n=12; n=6 women, mean age 65 years [SD ± 8]; 37.5% with lung cancer) deemed the instructions, items and response options to be comprehensible and comprehensive. Face-to-face interviews with 5 experts (n=3 female, mean age: 52 years [SD ± 12.28], n=4 physicians) addressed some issues of the instrument, resulting in removal of 12 items. The final version of the SCOAAI included 32 items: 15 in self-care maintenance, 11 in self-care monitoring and 6 in self-care management. The item CVI ranged between 0.8 and 1; the scale CVI was 0.99.
Conclusions
The SCOAAI showed good content validity and is a promising and psychometrically sound instrument for the assessment of self-care behaviours of cancer patients on OAAs. Since better self-care is associated with better clinical outcomes (e.g. less toxicity, better quality of life and fewer hospitalisations), the SCOAAI, once validated, could become a useful instrument for use in oncology clinical practice and research.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
M. Di Nitto.
Funding
“Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro i Tumori” (LILT) foundation.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.