Translation and psychometric testing of the Thai version of cancer survivors' unmet needs measure among cancer survivors

Pichitra Lekdamrongkul; Kanaungnit Pongthavornkamol; Alex Molassiotis; Porntip Dechpichai; Pimchan Pinsuntorn

doi:10.1016/j.apjon.2022.100083

Translation and psychometric testing of the Thai version of cancer survivors' unmet needs measure among cancer survivors

Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2022 May 18;9(9):100083. doi: 10.1016/j.apjon.2022.100083. eCollection 2022 Sep.

Authors

Pichitra Lekdamrongkul¹, Kanaungnit Pongthavornkamol¹, Alex Molassiotis², Porntip Dechpichai³, Pimchan Pinsuntorn⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
² School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
³ Department of Mathematics, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand.
⁴ Lopburi Cancer Hospital, Lopburi, Thailand.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Thai version of the Cancer Survivors' Unmet needs (CaSUN-TH) scale among Thai cancer survivors after completion of primary treatment.

Methods: Standardized translation procedures developed the Cancer Survivors' Unmet Needs into a Thai version (CaSUN-TH). Face validity was evaluated by a group of experts, and a pilot test on 10 cancer patients was conducted to evaluate its readability. A total of 236 cancer survivors who were attending follow-up visits at a cancer hospital in Thailand completed the CaSUN-TH. The internal consistency of the instrument was examined using Cronbach's α. The association of the CaSUN-TH and its subscales with physical symptoms, QoL, age, gender, and type of cancer were examined for criterion validity and known-group validity. Construct validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis.

Results: The CaSUN-TH showed good readability and high content validity for use as an instrument to assess unmet needs among Thai cancer survivors. Cronbach's $α$ for the entire scale was 0.95. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the five-factor structure of the CaSUN-TH was good fit to the data (CFI = 0.901, SRMR = 0.074, RMSEA = 0.076 [90% confidence interval, 0.066-0.085]). In terms of construct validity, CaSUN-TH scores significantly correlated to other variables hypothesized to influence the level of need, including higher physical symptoms prevalence was related to poor quality of life, and poorer QOL and younger age were associated with a higher level of unmet needs. In addition, the scale was able to differentiate scores between groups, including gender, age, and type of primary cancer, with theoretically hypothesized differences.

Conclusions: The CaSUN-TH demonstrated appropriate psychometric properties for assessing unmet needs in different cancer survivor groups in Thailand. Using the CaSUN-TH can help health professionals in targeting individual survivor needs, bridging the gap between patients' experiences and their expectations, and improving the quality of cancer survivorship care.

Keywords: Cancer survivors; Psychometric testing; Supportive care; Thai; Unmet needs.