title: Use of the Needs Evaluation Questionnaire with cancer outpatients.
abstract: The Needs Evaluation Questionnaire (NEQ) is a self-administered instrument with 23 dichotomous items that is used both in oncology clinical practice and in research. It was originally developed for use in setting of hospitalization. The aim of the present study was to assess the factor structure of the NEQ in an outpatient oncology sample and to compare the unmet needs of inpatients and outpatients in the Italian context.
  
  
  
  In 6 Italian oncology departments, 783 patients completed the NEQ. Patients included in the study had different primary tumor sites and were in different phases of the disease and care process. There were 195 inpatients and 588 outpatients total.
  
  
  
  Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that, with outpatients, the NEQ retained the distribution of the items in five main areas previously described with inpatients. Cancer outpatients expressed high percentages of unmet needs primarily concerning "material needs" and "needs for psycho-emotional support." Our survey also suggested that, in addition to the 23 original items, four new items could be tested for specific use with outpatients.
  
  
  
  Our findings highlight the importance of establishing routine assessment of unmet needs also in clinical oncology settings different from wards-such as day hospitals, ambulatory rehabilitation, or follow-up ambulatory care-where, at least in the Italian context, the rate of unmet needs is currently considerably high. The NEQ could be an effective tool for this assessment.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Descriptive Epidemiology Unit, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention-ISPO, Florence, Italy. andreabonacchi@centrosynthesis.it.|Centro Studi e Ricerca Synthesis, Florence, Italy. andreabonacchi@centrosynthesis.it.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonacchi
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Descriptive Epidemiology Unit, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention-ISPO, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Miccinesi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research, and Child Health (NEUROFARBA)-Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research, and Child Health (NEUROFARBA)-Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Primi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research, and Child Health (NEUROFARBA)-Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiesi
authors.affiliation: Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lippi
authors.affiliation: Centro Riabilitazione Oncologica, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention-ISPO, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muraca
authors.affiliation: Centro Studi e Ricerca Synthesis, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toccafondi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000639:trends*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cancer; Oncology; Outpatients; Unmet Needs