Maryam Hasannezhad Reskati1, Forouzan Elyasi2,3, Seyed Hamzeh Hosseini4, Misagh Shafizad5, Akbar Hedayatizadeh-Omran5, Reza Alizadeh-Navaei5, Sahar Khosravi6, Mansoureh Asghari Mashhadi Kolaei7, Erika Sivarajan Froelicher8, Hamid Sharif Nia9. 1. Phd Educational Psychology, Research Ethics Committee, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 2. Sexual and Reproductive Health Research Center, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Addiction Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 3. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 4. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 5. Gastrointestinal cancer research center, Non-communicable diseases Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 6. Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 7. Psychosomatic Ward, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 8. Department of Physiological Nursing, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Schools of Nursing and Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0610, USA. 9. Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research Center, Addiction Institute, Amol Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. h.sharifnia@mazums.ac.ir.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Fear of progression or recurrence is assumed as a rational response to the threat of cancers and types of cancer treatment. However, the elevated levels of fear in cancer patients can become dysfunctional. Therefore, a valid and reliable questionnaire is unquestionably required for this purpose. This study aimed to translate the Fear of Progression Questionnaire and evaluate its psychometric properties for patients with gastrointestinal cancers in Iran. METHODS: In this study with a methodological research design, a total number of 430 patients affected with gastrointestinal cancers referring to Northern Iran completed the 43-item Fear of Progression Questionnaire. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were evaluated, including the face validity and content validity. Then construct validity was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Finally, the reliability was assessed using internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and stability (intraclass correlation coefficient). RESULTS: Based on the result of the face and content validity, no items were revised and removed. The five extracted factors included were emotional response, employment, and loss of independence, economy/family, and coping. These factors explained 37% of the total variance of Fear of Progression Questionnaire. Reliability (by Cronbach's alpha) and stability (test retest was evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficient) were more than 0.7. CONCLUSION: The study results revealed that the Persian version of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire had acceptable reliability and validity for cancer patients in Iran. Emotional responses explained the most variance of the concept of fear of progression among cancer patients.
PURPOSE: Fear of progression or recurrence is assumed as a rational response to the threat of cancers and types of cancer treatment. However, the elevated levels of fear in cancer patients can become dysfunctional. Therefore, a valid and reliable questionnaire is unquestionably required for this purpose. This study aimed to translate the Fear of Progression Questionnaire and evaluate its psychometric properties for patients with gastrointestinal cancers in Iran. METHODS: In this study with a methodological research design, a total number of 430 patients affected with gastrointestinal cancers referring to Northern Iran completed the 43-item Fear of Progression Questionnaire. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were evaluated, including the face validity and content validity. Then construct validity was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Finally, the reliability was assessed using internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and stability (intraclass correlation coefficient). RESULTS: Based on the result of the face and content validity, no items were revised and removed. The five extracted factors included were emotional response, employment, and loss of independence, economy/family, and coping. These factors explained 37% of the total variance of Fear of Progression Questionnaire. Reliability (by Cronbach's alpha) and stability (test retest was evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficient) were more than 0.7. CONCLUSION: The study results revealed that the Persian version of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire had acceptable reliability and validity for cancer patients in Iran. Emotional responses explained the most variance of the concept of fear of progression among cancer patients.