2007 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 3-13
Abstract
This study developed a scale that measures concern of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, then investigated the reliability and validity of this new scale. First, a questionnaire consisting of 30 items was developed. For each item, there were four possible answers that had been chosen based on the literature and our previous qualitative study. Subjects were 206（males 83, females 123, average age 57.3 ± 10.7 years）cancer patients who were undergoing chemotherapy at two hospitals. After excluding statistically inappropriate items from the study, factor analysis was performed by principal factor analysis and Varian rotation. The study protocol was approved by the institutional review boards at both hospitals.
Four factors with 15 items were finally obtained : Self―existence, disease progress, reorganization of daily life and social and economic concerns. The 15 items were defined as the Cancer―chemotherapy Concerns Rating Scale（CCRS）．The cumulative contribution percentage after extracting these factors was 48.6％. The reliability of CCRS was investigated by Cronbach’s alpha and Spearman―Brown’s coefficient. These were 0.88 and 0.89 respectively. The validity of CCRS was investigated through content validity, concurrent validity and discriminate validity. Concurrent validity was confirmed by STAI（r＝0.42, p＜0.001）and Stress Responses Scale―18（r＝0.634, p＜0.001），and discriminate validity was found between high and low stressed subjects.
The above findings indicate that the CCRS is sufficiently reliable and valid for practical use.
