Development and validation of a rapid psychosocial well-being screening tool in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Bhumipat Thanasansomboon, Songphan Choemprayong, Napa Parinyanitikul and 3 others
PMID 35891904WHAT IT FOUND
A short 8-item survey for metastatic breast cancer patients showed reasonable accuracy but inconsistent reliability over time.
Use it to spot psychosocial needs, but do not treat a single score as a definitive diagnosis without further clinical assessment.
Key findings
01The scale correlated moderately with a standard quality-of-life measure but weakly with a breast-cancer-specific symptom measure.
02The overall reliability of the scale was low, meaning the items did not consistently measure the same underlying concept.
03Only one of the eight items maintained good consistency when patients completed the survey again two weeks later.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used a small sample of 53 patients from a single center, which limits the generalizability of the results. The scale was only validated in Thai; the English translation has not been tested. The low internal consistency and poor test-retest reliability suggest the tool may not be stable enough for routine clinical use without further refinement.
Declared interests
The study was funded by Chulalongkorn University. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this scale to track a patient's progress or decline over time. The poor test-retest reliability means changes in scores may reflect the tool's inconsistency rather than actual changes in the patient's well-being.