Premium
Validation and application of a module of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory for measuring multiple symptoms in patients with gastrointestinal cancer (the MDASI‐GI)
Author(s) -
Wang Xin Shelley,
Williams Loretta A.,
Eng Cathy,
Mendoza Tito R.,
Shah Nyma A.,
Kirkendoll Karyn J.,
Shah Pankil K.,
Trask Peter C.,
Palos Guadalupe R.,
Cleeland Charles S.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.24920
Subject(s) - medicine , cronbach's alpha , physical therapy , debriefing , gastroenterology , psychometrics , clinical psychology , medical education
BACKGROUND: The M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) was developed as a brief yet comprehensive tool to assess patient‐reported symptom severity and interference in patients with cancer. The authors report the development of an MDASI module for use in patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer (the MDASI‐GI). METHODS: Patients with GI cancer (N = 184) participated in module development and validation. The process included: 1) generating GI‐specific candidate items with input from GI oncologists and from qualitative interviews with patients and adding those items to the core MDASI for testing; 2) dropping candidate GI items that lacked sensitivity; 3) validating the psychometric properties (validity, reliability, sensitivity) of the resulting MDASI‐GI; and 4) conducting cognitive debriefing interviews with patients to confirm the questionnaire's ease of comprehension, relevance, and acceptability. RESULTS: Five GI‐specific symptom items (constipation, diarrhea, difficulty swallowing, change in taste, and feeling bloated) were added to the original 19 MDASI symptom and interference items to form the MDASI‐GI. Sixty‐one percent of the sample had 1 or more moderate‐to‐severe symptom(s) (≥5 on a severity scale from 0 to 10). Cronbach α values were .80 and .87 for symptom severity items and interference items, respectively. Known‐group validity (sensitivity) was supported by the ability of the MDASI‐GI to detect significant differences in symptom and interference levels according to performance status ( P < .001). Cognitive debriefing demonstrated that, for patients, the MDASI‐GI was an easy‐to‐use and understandable tool. CONCLUSIONS: The current results indicated that the MDASI‐GI is a valid, reliable, and concise tool for measuring symptom severity and interference with function in patients with GI cancer. Cancer 2010.