title: Symptom assessment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
abstract: The primary purpose of this secondary data analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and suitability of the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) for use with patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Symptoms experienced by patients with severe COPD were assessed in the original investigation using the 32-item MSAS. The sample consisted of 72 individuals with COPD ranging in age from 36 to 79 years. To increase its efficiency for use with severely ill COPD patients, the original MSAS was shortened to include the 19 most frequently reported symptoms. Reliability of the revised tool remained high (Cronbach's alpha = .86). Content and convergent validity of the revised tool were also established. The revised MSAS appears to be an appropriate measure of the multidimensional, multisymptom experience of patients with severe COPD.
authors.affiliation: Seattle University, WA 98122-1090, USA. jablonsk@seattleu.edu
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jablonski
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gift
authors.forename: Kathleen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Cook
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011594:Psychometrics; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*