Francisco Gil

Use of distress and depression thermometers to measure psychosocial morbidity among southern European cancer patients

Goals of workRecent literature has indicated the need for rapid evaluation of psychosocial issues secondary to cancer. Because of the problems of routine use of psychometric instruments, short instruments such as visual analogue scales or one-item 0–10 scales have been developed as valid assessment alternatives.Patients and methodsA study was conducted to examine the role of two 0–10 scales in measuring emotional stress (distress thermometer, DT) and depressed mood (mood thermometer, MT), respectively, in a multicenter study carried out in southern European countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland). A convenience sample of 312 cancer outpatients completed the DT and MT and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS).Main resultsDT was more significantly associated HADS anxiety than HADS depression while MT was related both to HADS anxiety and depression. The correlation of MT with HADS was higher than DT. A cutoff point >4 on the DT maximized sensitivity (65%) and specificity (79%) for general psychosocial morbidity while a cutoff >5 identified more severe “caseness” (sensitivity=70%; specificity=73%). On the MT, sensitivity and specificity for general psychosocial morbidity were 85% and 72% by using the cutoff score >3. A score >4 on the MT was associated with a sensitivity of 78% and a specificity of 77% in detecting more severe caseness.ConclusionsTwo simple instruments, the DT and the MT, were found to have acceptable levels of sensitivity and specificity in detecting psychosocial morbidity. Compared to the HADS, however, the mood MT performed better than the DT.

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in cancer: psychometric analysis of the Spanish Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian version.

Objective: The PTSD Checklist‐Civilian version (PCL‐C) was used as a screening tool to assess the presence of PTSD symptoms. The aim of this study was to explore the factorial structure of the Spanish version of the PCL‐C and calculate the correlation of PTSD symptoms with distress and health‐related quality of life.

The mental adjustment to cancer scale: a psychometric analysis in Spanish cancer patients

Objective: The Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale was used to assess the cognitive responses to a cancer diagnosis. The aim of this study was to replicate the factorial structure of the Spanish version of the scale and ascertain the correlations between dimensions of the MAC and socio‐demographic characteristics or medical variables.

Hopelessness and related variables among cancer patients in the Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study (SEPOS).

Background Although hopelessness has been studied in cancer, no data are available in non-English-speaking countries. Objective The authors sought to amass data from Southern European countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland) in order to fill this void. Method A group of 312 cancer patients completed the Mini-MAC Hopelessness subscale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Cancer Worry Inventory (CWI), and a six-item Visual Analog scale (VAS) to measure intensity of physical symptoms, general well-being, difficulty in coping with cancer, intensity of social support from close relationships, leisure activity, and support from religious beliefs. Results Regression analysis indicated that HADS–Depression, VAS Maladaptive Coping and Well-Being, and the CWI explained 42% of the variance. Conclusion Hopelessness in cancer patients seems not exclusively to correspond to depression, but is related to various other psychosocial factors, such as maladaptive coping, as well.

Quality of life in the chemotherapy treatment of Spanish cancer patients: a comparison of general population norms.

Objective: The SF‐36 Health Survey (SF‐36) is a general instrument used to assess health‐related quality of life (HRQL). The purpose of this study is to describe self‐reported information on health and the quality of life among cancer outpatients during chemotherapy treatment and to compare it with the baseline sample drawn from the general Spanish population.

The influence of coping response and health-related quality of life on perceived social support during cancer treatment

OBJECTIVE In the biopsychosocial approach, perceived social support has served as a protective factor for psychological adjustment to cancer. This study aimed to determine the influence of different coping responses and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains on perceived social support during cancer treatment. METHOD A cross-sectional analysis was carried out in a sample of 757 cancer outpatients. The Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) was employed to assess perceived social support. The Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) Scale measured coping response, and HRQoL was tested with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36). Multivariate analyses were carried out to examine the extent to which coping and HRQoL were associated with perceived social support. RESULTS Coping response explained only 2% of the variance in perceived social support, but Hopelessness had a significant influence on perceived social support (p ≤ 0.01). HRQoL, physical, and mental domains made a significant contribution toward perceived social support, accounting for around 10% of total variance. More than coping response, HRQoLs physical and mental domains had an important influence on perceived social support during cancer treatment. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS The findings of the current study report the importance of HRQoL domains in predicting perceived social support during cancer treatment, emphasizing the holistic and multidisciplinary approach to facilitate adjustment to cancer.