Psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Wenli Xiao; Carmen W H Chan; Xin Shelley Wang; Jinnan Xiao; Marques S N Ng

doi:10.1016/j.apjon.2021.12.014

Psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2021 Dec 29;9(2):113-118. doi: 10.1016/j.apjon.2021.12.014. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Authors

Wenli Xiao¹, Carmen W H Chan², Xin Shelley Wang³, Jinnan Xiao⁴, Marques S N Ng²

Affiliations

¹ School of Nursing, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
² The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Department of Symptom Research, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
⁴ Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Objective: The Chinese version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module (MDASI-HN-C) has been linguistically validated. However, its psychometric properties have not been established yet. The purpose of the study was to psychometrically validate the MDASI-HN-C in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: 130 Chinese NPC patients who were undergoing radiotherapy (RT) participated in this cross-sectional study. The content, convergent, and construct validity of the MDASI-HN-C were examined. The reliability of the instrument was tested by examining the internal consistency and test-retest reliability.

Results: Cronbach's α coefficients ranged from 0.85 to 0.91 for the three subscales of the MDASI-HN-C. The 3-day test-retest reliability was acceptable with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) ranged from 0.52 to 0.71. The scale content validity index (S-CVI) was satisfactory (0.97). Subscale scores of the MDASI-HN-C were negatively correlated with the total score of the Chinese version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Head and Neck Scale (FACT-H&N-C) as hypothesized (r = -0.484 to -0.563, all P < 0.01). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed two factors for the 13 core and another two for the nine HNC-specific items. Only one factor was generated for the six interference items.

Conclusions: The MDASI-HN-C shows desirable psychometric properties for evaluating symptom burden in NPC patients, which can be used in both clinical and research contexts.

Keywords: Head and neck cancer; MDASI-HN; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Symptom burden; Validation.