Symptom screening in paediatrics tool for screening multiple symptoms in Brazilian patients with cancer: a cross-sectional validation study

Author(s)

Cadamuro, Sandra de Andrade ^{[1, 2]} ; Franco, Julia Onishi ^{[1, 3]} ; Paiva, Carlos Eduardo ^{[4, 1]} ; de Oliveira, Cleyton Zanardo ^{[1, 5]} ; Ribeiro Paiva, Bianca Sakamoto ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Barretos Canc Hosp, Res Grp Palliat Care & Hlth Related Qual Life GPQ, Barretos - Brazil

^[2] Barretos Canc Hosp, Oncol Grad Program, Barretos - Brazil

^[3] Barretos Canc Hosp, Dr Paulo Prata Sch Hlth Sci Barretos, Barretos - Brazil

^[4] Barretos Canc Hosp, Dept Clin Oncol, Barretos - Brazil

^[5] Beneficencia Portuguesa Sao Paulo, Educ & Res BP A, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BMJ OPEN; v. 9, n. 8 AUG 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study was to translate, culturally adapt and validate the Symptom Screening in Paediatrics Tool (SSPedi) into the Brazilian Portuguese language to be used by paediatric oncology patients in Brazil. Design A descriptive, cross-sectional study that follows an established methodology for translation and cultural adaptation, developed in two phases: phase I, linguistic translation and cultural adaptation of the SSPedi scale and phase II, psychometric properties evaluation. Setting Children's Hospital for Cancer Treatment in Latin America. Participants Paediatric patients between 7 and 18 years of age and proxies of patients between 2 and 6 years of age, diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Patients and proxies with significant neuropsychiatric disorders and/or visual impairment that prevented the ability to read were excluded. Primary outcome measures Construct validation of SSPedi using convergent validity and contrasted groups. Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha test and assessing the retest using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results The psychometric properties of the symptom screening tool were evaluated using 157 participants, of which 116 were patients and 41 were proxies. Convergent validity and hypothesised correlations (Spearman's r>0.4) were confirmed for both self- and proxy-reported versions of the assessment tool. No significant differences found between the two contrasting groups. Assessment of SSPedi resulted in an internal consistency of reliability of alpha =0.77 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.82) for the self and alpha =0.81 (95% CI 0.71 to 0.88) for the proxy and overall reproducibility ICC values of (95%CI), 0.54 (0.15 to 0.77) and 0.77 (0.64 to 0.86). Conclusion SSPedi was found to be culturally and linguistically adaptable and considered valid and reliable for use by paediatric oncology patients in Brazil. The new translated and adapted version was named SSPedi-BR. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/01405-5 - Validation of symptom screening in pediatrics tool (SSPedi) in Brazilian Portuguese to evaluate pediatric patients
• Grantee: Julia Onishi Franco
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation