The Danish version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale: Preliminary Validation in Cancer Pain Patients

Objective:  To examine the psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale (DMARS‐4) adapted to measure adherence to analgesic regimen among cancer patients. Methods:  The validated English version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale was translated into Danish following the repeated back‐translation procedure. Cancer patients for the study were recruited from specialized pain management facilities. Thirty‐three patients responded to the DMARS‐4, the Danish Barriers Questionnaire II, The Danish version of Patient Perceived Involvement in Care Scale measuring the quality of patient‐physician pain communication, and the Danish Brief Pain Inventory pain severity scale. Results:  A factor analysis of the DMARS‐4 resulted in one factor. Mean (SD) score on the cumulative scale ranging from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating better medication adherence, was 17.8 (0.42). The DMARS‐4 scores were related to the measures of patients' concerns about pain management and patients' pain communication. The internal consistency of the DMARS‐4 was 0.70. Conclusions:  The DMARS‐4 seems to be a valid and reliable measure of self‐reported adherence to analgesic regimen in the context of cancer pain.