Development and Psycometric Validation of Cancer-Q: Questionnaire about Cancer Patient’s Knowledge of their Disease

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world and is considered one of the fastest growing diseases in Brazil, it is estimated that about 600 thousand new cases of cancer are diagnosed between the years 2018 and 2019. Objective: To develop an validate the instrument “Questionnaire of knowledge of the disease for cancer patients” and asses the level of knowledge of cancer patients. Method: The instrument was developed by analyzing the specific literature for presentation to a multidisciplinary team of health care, who answered the validation of clarity and content of the instrument.  Then, its generated the pilot version. After the pilot study analysis, the instrument was tested in 71 cancer patients of Center of Oncology Research (Cepon). The reproducibility was obtained through the intraclass correlation coefficient of test-retest method. Results: The final version had 14 questions and presented an clarity index of 8,63±0,75. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0,858 and Cronbach’s alpha, 0,611. Factor analysis indicated five factor related to areas of knowledge. The final scores were compared with the characteristics of patients and concluded that low education and low income are associated with lower scores of knowledge. Conclusion: The instrument has satisfactory clarity and validity  indices and can be used to asses the cancer patient´s knowledge.