Validation of the EORTC information (QLQ-INFO25) and satisfaction with care (IN-PATSAT32) modules in the Polish...

The IN-PATSAT32 and QLQ-INFO25 are questionnaires which can be applied to assess and improve communication with cancer patients, as well as for research and clinical trials aimed at assessing patients' satisfaction and perception of the information received from nurses and other healthcare providers. Given the recently passed "Polish oncological network" act of law, the issue of patient satisfaction and its regular assessment is finally acknowledged in the socioeconomic and cultural context of Poland. The aim of this study was to validate the EORTC quality of information, QLQ-INFO25, and satisfaction with care, IN-PATSAT32 modules.

This prospective cross-sectional study included patients from a cancer reference center in Krakow, Poland. The translated and pilot-tested module QLQ-INFO25 was used together with the core questionnaire QLQ-C30 and the satisfaction module IN-PATSAT32. Adult patients with histological confirmation of any malignancy and the ability to answer the questionnaire were included in the study.

A total of 187 patients, including 111 women and 76 men (mean age ± SD; 59.32 ± 10.4), were enrolled. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients, ranged from 0.83-0.85 for the QLQ-INFO25 and 0.82-0.94 for the IN-PATSAT32, indicating positive internal consistency. Acceptable convergent and discriminant validity in multi-trait scaling analyses was observed for both modules, with r < 0.3 for all calculations. Interclass correlations proved satisfactory test-retest reliability.

The Polish versions of the IN-PATSAT32 and QLQ-INFO25 are reliable and valid instruments providing domains not covered by the core EORTC module. These tools are suitable for use in daily clinical practice, in research as well as in clinical trials to obtain data regarding patients' perception of and satisfaction with received information within the socioeconomic and cultural context of Poland.