DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASURE TO ASSESS THE PERCEIVED ILLNESS EXPERIENCE AFTER TREATMENT FOR CANCER

The development of a scale to measure perceived illness experience in young people with cancer is described. Areas of concern were first ide ntified through semistructured interviews conducted with children and adolescents. As a result, 78 items were generated to cover the main ar eas identified (physical appearance, interference with activity, peer rejection, integration in school, manipulation, parental behaviour, di sclosure, preoccupation with illness, and impact of treatment). These items were rated (on five point scales) by 41 patients (mean age 14.6 years) and 35 of their parents. Measures of physical functioning (symp toms, functional disability, and restrictions) and psychological funct ioning (symptoms) were included for validation purposes. Test-retest r eliability was calculated on the basis of ratings made by a subsample of parents on two separate occasions. A 34 item scale was constructed with four items in each of the areas identified above, except for phys ical appearance (n=2). The scale has adequate internal reliability and validity. There were significant correlations between parents and the ir children on all subscales except for illness disclosure and impact of treatment, suggesting that parents may be less reliable informants for their children in these contexts. The scale has potential use in c linical contexts, in evaluating the psychosocial impact of different t reatment regimens, and as an outcome measure in intervention work.