Developing, Implementing, and Validating a Social Toxicity Assessment Tool of Cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Psychosocial Oncology
• Health Outcomes Research

Background:

• The social impact of cancer on patients and families is significant but lacks validated measurement tools.
• Existing tools do not adequately capture the multifaceted social toxicity experienced by cancer patients.
• There is a need for reliable instruments to assess social toxicity in oncology care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel Social Toxicity Assessment Tool for patients with cancer (STAT-C).
• To create a reliable instrument for measuring the social impact and toxicity in cancer patients.
• To implement a tool that supports comprehensive, patient-centered oncology care.

Main Methods:

• Development of an initial 20-item questionnaire through patient focus groups and literature review.
• Content validity assessed using Content Validity Index (CVI) for individual items and the entire scale.
• Final 14-item STAT-C tool validated through expert examination and exploratory factor analysis.

Main Results:

• The STAT-C tool demonstrated high content validity with an overall CVI of 0.87.
• Exploratory factor analysis confirmed 13 items loading across three domains: social relations, social activities, and economic impact.
• The tool effectively measures unique social toxicity constructs for Arabic-speaking patients.

Conclusions:

• The STAT-C is a valid and reliable tool for assessing social toxicity in cancer patients.
• This instrument facilitates improved patient-centered care within a comprehensive oncology approach.
• STAT-C provides a crucial measure for understanding and addressing the social dimensions of cancer survivorship.