Satisfaction with rehydration therapy for terminally ill cancer patients: concept construction, scale development,...

Comprehensive assessment is important in determination of the efficacy of rehydration therapy for terminally ill cancer patients. To validate a multidimensional satisfaction scale, a multicenter cross-sectional study was performed. The participants were requested to complete a questionnaire on their satisfaction levels with rehydration therapy, and the primary physician recorded each patient's background. A total of 173 patients were included in this study. After the development phase, the initial instrument was shortened to a 12-item scale. In the validation phase, an exploratory factor analysis revealed underlying three subscales: satisfaction with "information giving," "disturbance of daily activities," and "treatment effect." This factor structure was ascertained by a confirmatory factor analysis. The overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.73, and those for subscales ranged from 0.73 to 0.83. The total score was significantly correlated with global satisfaction score (rho=0.53), and the "treatment effect" subscale score was moderately correlated with self-perceived improvement of dehydration symptoms (rho=0.25-0.33). The test-retest examination showed fair reproductive reliability (intraclass correlation = 0.78 for total and 0.63-0.78 for subscale scores). Multivariate analyses identified that disclosure of the incurability, 15 min or more daily contact with physicians, presence of a primary responsible nurse, absence of cachexia, and absence of fluid retention symptoms were significantly associated with higher patient satisfaction. In conclusion, this scale had acceptable psychometric properties for measurement of patient satisfaction with rehydration therapy.