Paper
Saturday, 22 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Developing and Testing Measurement Instruments
The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Heart Failure (MDASI-HF): Instrument Development and Psychometric Testing
Anecita P. Fadol, RN, MSN, FNP, Cardiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
Learning Objective #1: describe the development of a symptom inventory tool for cancer patients with heart failure.
Learning Objective #2: discuss the psychometric properties of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory - Heart Failure (MDASI-HF).
Patients with cancer and heart failure experience an unacceptable level of symptoms as the disease progresses.  Inadequate management of these symptoms results in frequent unnecessary hospitalization and poor quality of life. However, a validated instrument for assessment of symptoms in this patient population is lacking. This pilot study is an initial evaluation of the reliability and validity of an instrument for symptom assessment of cancer patients with heart failure entitled the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Heart Failure (MDASI-HF). Thirty two patients diagnosed with cancer and heart failure provided ratings on the 24 symptom severity questions and six interference items measuring symptom burden. Criterion validity showed moderate correlation scores of the MDASI-HF with the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (r = .467 -.731; p = .000 - .042) and the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification (r = .439 -.719; p =.000 - .042). Construct validity was determined using factor analysis, which yielded a six factor solution accounting for 80% of the cumulative variance.  Internal consistency reliability showed a Cronbach’s coefficient alpha of .936 for the severity items and .906 for the interference items.  Preliminary results suggest that the MDASI-HF appears to be valid tool in examining symptom prevalence and burden in cancer patients with heart failure.  Further study is needed to establish the reliability and validity of the instrument.

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