Validity of the Psycho-Oncology Screening Tool (POST)

Area of Science:

• Psychosocial Oncology
• Clinical Psychology
• Cancer Care Research

Background:

• Early identification of psychosocial challenges in cancer patients is crucial to prevent escalating distress.
• Standardized screening tools aid medical teams in identifying patients at high risk for poor adjustment.
• The Psycho-Oncology Screening Tool (POST) was developed to address this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide preliminary psychometric evidence for the brief, self-administered POST.
• To evaluate the POST's ability to assess emotional/physical distress, depressive symptoms, and social concerns.
• To establish the tool's reliability and validity in an oncology patient population.

Main Methods:

• 944 radiation oncology patients completed the POST before treatment.
• A subgroup of 516 patients also completed concurrent validity measures.
• Psychometric analysis included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal reliability, and correlational analyses.

Main Results:

• Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor structure for the POST.
• The POST subscales demonstrated acceptable internal reliability (α = .73–.88).
• Significant correlations (0.42–0.83) supported concurrent validity with established measures.

Conclusions:

• The POST is a psychometrically sound, feasible, and acceptable brief screening tool for outpatient oncology patients.
• It effectively screens for emotional and physical distress, depressive symptoms, and social concerns.
• The tool aids in early identification and management of psychosocial challenges in cancer care.