title: Translation of Supportive Care Needs Survey Short Form 34 (SCNS-SF34) into Italian and cultural validation study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS) is one of the most comprehensive tools used in the clinical trials to measure the perceived unmet supportive care needs of cancer patients. The original 59-item instrument was developed and validated in English using rigorous methods. A short version containing 34 items was subsequently developed by the same authors (SCNS-SF34) and has since been translated into numerous other languages and validated, confirming its psychometrically robust properties. Cross-cultural validity is, in fact, important for international comparisons of self-reported measures. As an Italian form of the questionnaire does not exist at present, we decided to test the linguistic equivalence and cultural validity of a translated version of the SCNS-SF34 in a target population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The adaptation process was performed in accordance with Beaton's guidelines by a dedicated research team in collaboration with patient representatives.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Italian questionnaire maintained the construct validity of the original version and was easy to understand and use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preliminary results indicate that the SCNS-SF34 is feasible in an Italian population. Further research is ongoing at our institute to assess its psychometric properties in a larger case series and in different care settings.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy. anita.zeneli@irst.emr.it.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zeneli
authors.affiliation: Cancer Prevention Unit, AUSL, Romagna, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fabbri
authors.affiliation: Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Donati
authors.affiliation: Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Grainne
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tierney
authors.affiliation: Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pasa
authors.affiliation: Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Alejandra
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Berardi
authors.affiliation: Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maltoni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014175:Translating
keywords: Cancer patients; Needs assessment; Patient-reported outcome instruments; Supportive care; Translation and transcultural adaptation process; Unmet needs