Development of the Psychosocial Distress Questionnaire—Breast Cancer (PDQ-BC): a breast cancer-specific screening instrument for psychosocial problems

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 19; no. 10; pp. 1485 - 1493
• Main Authors: Bogaarts, Mirjam P. J., Den Oudsten, Brenda L., Roukema, Jan A., Van Riel, Johanna M. G. H., Beerepoot, Laurens V., De Vries, Jolanda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.10.2011; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Analysis; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety - etiology; Body image; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - psychology; Breast Neoplasms - therapy; Cancer; Chemotherapy; Depression - diagnosis; Depression - etiology; Diagnosis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Humans; Mass Screening - methods; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Original; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Pilot Projects; Psychological aspects; Psychometrics; Questionnaires; Rehabilitation Medicine; Social aspects; Social Support; Stress, Psychological - diagnosis; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Screening; Oncology; Psychosocial; Breast cancer; Psychosocial problems; Cancer
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-010-0968-9

Purpose The aim of the present study was to develop a short, easy-to-use, and acceptable psychosocial screening instrument specific for breast cancer patients. Methods Before the start of adjuvant chemotherapy, 164 (98.8%) women completed the Psychosocial Distress Questionnaire-Breast Cancer (PDQ-BC) as part of routine care. The PDQ-BC consists of questions about psychological risk factors (i.e., trait anxiety and (lack of) social support), psychosocial problems (i.e., state anxiety and depressive symptoms), social problems, physical problems, body image, financial problems, sexual problems, clinical factors (type of surgery, adjuvant treatment other than chemotherapy and psychiatric morbidity), and demographic factors (marital status, age, and age of children). Results On average, patients indicated that they needed 5 min to complete the PDQ-BC. All subscales were significantly correlated with each other, except the correlations of social support with physical problems and body image. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the internal structure of the PDQ-BC (comparative fit index = 0.95 ( χ 2 (24) = 43.3), p  = 0.009; non-normed fit index = 0.91; root mean square error of approximation = 0.073). The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas) of the subscales trait anxiety, state anxiety, depressive symptoms, body image, social problems, and physical problems were 0.88, 0.85, 0.86, 0.79, 0.42, and 0.69, respectively. Conclusion The PDQ-BC is an easy-to-complete, acceptable, non-burdensome, and short screening instrument for routine use in breast cancer patient care. This instrument facilitates a greater awareness of the concerns and needs for breast cancer patients care during treatment with chemotherapy and the follow-up. It is linked to a good referral system to guide allocation to the different levels of psychosocial care providers.