Measuring double awareness in patients with advanced cancer: A preliminary scale development study.
Advanced cancer
Death contemplation
Double awareness
End of life
Life engagement
Living with cancer
Meaning
Oncology
Palliative care
Scale development
Journal
Palliative & supportive care
ISSN: 1478-9523
Titre abrégé: Palliat Support Care
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101232529
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
21 Dec 2023
21 Dec 2023
Historique:
medline:
21
12
2023
pubmed:
21
12
2023
entrez:
21
12
2023
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
Individuals with advanced cancer face the challenge of living meaningfully while also preparing for end of life. The ability to sustain this duality, called "double awareness," may reflect optimal psychological adaptation, but no psychometric scale exists to measure this construct. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel scale to measure double awareness in patients living with advanced cancer. Guided by best practices for scale development, this study addresses the first three of nine steps in instrument development, including domain clarification and item generation, establishment of content validity of the items, and pre-testing of the items with patients. Instrument development resulted in a 41-item measure with two dimensions titled "life engagement" and "death contemplation." Items retained in the measure displayed face validity and were found to be both acceptable by patients and relevant to their lived experience. The results of this scale development study will allow for full validation of the measure and future use in clinical and research settings. This novel measure of double awareness will have clinical utility and relevance in a variety of settings where patients with advanced cancer are treated.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Individuals with advanced cancer face the challenge of living meaningfully while also preparing for end of life. The ability to sustain this duality, called "double awareness," may reflect optimal psychological adaptation, but no psychometric scale exists to measure this construct.
OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to develop a novel scale to measure double awareness in patients living with advanced cancer.
METHODS
METHODS
Guided by best practices for scale development, this study addresses the first three of nine steps in instrument development, including domain clarification and item generation, establishment of content validity of the items, and pre-testing of the items with patients.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Instrument development resulted in a 41-item measure with two dimensions titled "life engagement" and "death contemplation." Items retained in the measure displayed face validity and were found to be both acceptable by patients and relevant to their lived experience.
SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS
CONCLUSIONS
The results of this scale development study will allow for full validation of the measure and future use in clinical and research settings. This novel measure of double awareness will have clinical utility and relevance in a variety of settings where patients with advanced cancer are treated.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38124362
doi: 10.1017/S1478951523001669
pii: S1478951523001669
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM