Psychometric validation of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer–Quality of Life Questionnaire Sexual Health (EORTC QLQ-SH22). (September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Greimel, Elfriede; Nagele, Eva; Lanceley, Anne; Oberguggenberger, Anne S.; Nordin, Andy; Kuljanic, Karin; Arraras, Juan I.; Wei-Chu, Chie; Jensen, Pernille T.; Tomaszewski, Krzysztof A.; Creutzberg, Carien L.; Galalae, Razvan; Toelen, Hilde; Zimmermann, Kristin; Bjelic-Radisic, Vesna; Costantini, Anna; Almont, Thierry; Serpentini, Samantha; Paskeviciute Frøding, Ligita; Vistad, Ingvild; Schmalz, Claudia
• Is Part Of: European journal of cancer. Volume 154(2021)
• Page Start: 235
• Page End: 245
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Subjects: Sexual health -- Quality of life -- Cancer -- Questionnaire development -- EORTC -- Cross-cultural validation -- Psychometric properties; Cancer -- Periodicals; Neoplasms -- Periodicals; Cancer -- Périodiques; Cancer; Tumors; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.994
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2021.06.003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-8049

Abstract

Abstract: Background: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group developed a questionnaire to assess sexual health in patients with cancer and cancer survivors. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the questionnaire. Methods: The 22-item EORTC sexual health questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-SH22) was administered with the EORTC QLQ-C30 to 444 patients with cancer. The hypothesised scale structure, reliability and validity were evaluated through standardised psychometric procedures. Results: The cross-cultural field study showed that the majority of patients (94.7%) were able to complete the QLQ-SH22 in less than 20 min; 89% of the study participants did not need any help to fill in the questionnaire. Multi-item multi-trait scaling analysis confirmed the hypothesised scale structure with two multi-item scales (sexual satisfaction, sexual pain) and 11 single items (including five conditional items and four gender-specific items). The internal consistency yielded acceptable Cronbach's alpha coefficients (.90 for the sexual satisfaction scale, .80 for the sexual pain scale). The test-retest correlations (Pearson's r) ranged from .70 to .93 except for the scale communication with professionals (.67) and male body image (.69). The QLQ-SH22 discriminates well between subgroups of patients differing in terms of their performance and treatment status. Conclusion: The study supports the reliability, the content and construct validity of the QLQ-SH22. The newly developed questionnaire is clinically applicable to assess sexual health of patients with cancer at different treatment stages and during survivorship for clinical trials and for clinical practice. Highlights: The validation study confirmed the psychometric properties of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire–Sexual Health (QLQ-SH22). The instrument is clinically applicable and valid. The QLQ-SH22 can be used in clinical practice as well as in survivorship research. The tool is available in 10 languages and can be obtained via the EORTC website.