Responsiveness to change [corrected] due to supportive-expressive group therapy, improvement in mood and disease progression in women with metastatic breast cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the responsiveness of six questionnaires using three hypotheses of change: (i) change due to supportive-expressive group therapy (SEGT), (ii) improved mood defined as a small effect size (.2) on Profile of Mood States (POMS) Total Mood Disturbance score and (iii) progression of disease.


METHODS
Data from the "Breast Expressive-Supportive Therapy" study, a multicentre randomized controlled trial of change due to SEGT versus standard of care in women with metastatic breast cancer were used. Questionnaires studied were: POMS, Impact of Event Scale, Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS), EORTC QLQ-C30, Mental Adjustment to Cancer and a Pain visual analog scale (VAS). Responsiveness to change was evaluated using the standardized response mean. POMS was used as the standard.


RESULTS
POMS was the most responsive questionnaire to change due to SEGT. Questionnaires measuring psychosocial attributes were responsive to improvement in mood. EORTC QLQ-C30, PAIS, PAIN VAS and MAC were the most responsive to disease progression. More responsive questionnaires were associated with the smallest sample size required to detect an effect.


CONCLUSIONS
Responsiveness to change is context specific. The POMS was the most responsive questionnaire to psychosocial therapy.
Lemieux
Julie
J
Département d'hématologie, Unité de recherche en santé des populations, Centre hospitalier affilié universitaire de Québec, pavillon St-Sacrement, Quebec, Canada. julie.lemieux@uresp.ulaval.ca
Beaton
Dorcas E
DE
Hogg-Johnson
Sheilah
S
Bordeleau
Louise J
LJ
Hunter
Jon
J
Goodwin
Pamela J
PJ
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D002170:Canada; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome