Psychometric quality of the Extended CaSUN- NL, information needs from the cancer aftercare guide study

Abstract

Background: Unmet information needs increase emotional distress for cancer survivors and subsequently hamper patients’ adjustment to their illness. The Cancer Survivor Unmet Needs measure (CaSUN) is a self-reported instrument by Hodgkinson et al. to assess survivors’ reported care needs. The Extended CaSUN-NL entailed the original items plus items related to work and lifestyle. Validity of both will be described. Methods: Survivors (N=255, aged >18; mean age 60.6 years, female 69%; breast cancer 59%) came from 8 hospitals. CaSUN-NL was applied twice (six-week interval, 92.9% retest response) and cross-sectional analyses (e.g. factor analyses, associations with MAC, HADS, QLQ-C30) were conducted. Findings: Respondents reported 8 (5 unmet/3 met) needs on average. Factor analyses revealed 5 factors. Total needs related significantly with MAC r=.50, HADS anxiety r= .55, HADS depression r=. 52, global health (QoL) r=- .54 and age r=-.25. Test-retest correlations were low (<.15); internal consistency values were high (α’s > .93). Discussion/Conclusion: The CaSUN-NL appears a useful tool to investigate information needs among cancer survivors.