title: Development and validation of a modified version of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale in a Flemish palliative care population.
abstract: Palliative cancer patients are faced with multiple symptoms that threaten their quality of life. To manage these symptoms, a reliable and valid way of registration is crucial. In this study, the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) has been translated, modified, and tested on content, face, criterion, construct validity, and internal consistency for patients admitted to Flemish palliative care units. These aspects are tested in a descriptive, comparative, longitudinal study based on 3 convenience samples. The first consisted of 8 palliative care experts. The second sample checked the face validity and consisted of 4 patients, 5 family members, and 5 nurses. The last sample involved 23 patients admitted to 3 Flemish palliative care units. Heedful of the "new-wave" vision on validity, the translated and altered ESAS seemed a suitable instrument for the symptom assessment of patients with cancer admitted to a palliative care unit.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium. Patricia.claessens@arteveldehs.be
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Claessens
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Menten
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schotsmans
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Broeckaert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires