Psychometric Properties of the Self Care Oral Anticancer Agents Index (SCOAAI)

To test the Self-Care Oral Anticancer Agents Index (SCOAAI)'s psychometric properties (structural validity, convergent validity, predictive validity, and internal consistency) in a sample of patients with solid tumour on Oral anticancer agents (OAA).

A methodological research in five in- or out-patient Italian facilities. Structural validity was tested by confirmatory factor analysis, and internal consistency was assessed through Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to test associations between SCOAAI scores and patient's emergency room admission, re-hospitalization, mortality, and quality of life measured three months after baseline.

We enrolled 356 patients; mostly were male (52.24%), and mean age was 59.10 years. Analyses demonstrated the SCOAAI's factorial validity and internal consistency. Moreover, patients that experienced emergency room admissions (U = 3484.5; P = .002) and re-hospitalization (U = 2446.0; P = .001) showed lower self-care maintenance scores; those who experienced emergency room admission (U = 3263.5; P = .019) and died at follow-up (U = 700.5; P = .025) had lower self-care monitoring scores; while patients that experienced re-hospitalisation (U = 2931.5; P = .040) and emergency room admission (U = 3285.0; P = .012) had lower self-care management scores. Patients with adequate self-care (≥ 70) reported significantly higher quality of life (self-care maintenance U = 1228.500, P < .001; self-care monitoring U = 3512.500, P < .001; self-care management U = 3287.500, P < .001).

According to our findings the SCOAAI is a valid and reliable tool. Patients with inadequate self-care can experience more emergency room accesses, re-hospitalization, death, and lower quality of life.

Adequate self-care behaviors can improve patient's outcomes and should be assessed by healthcare providers during the disease pathway.