Brief emotional screening in oncology: Specificity and sensitivity of the emotion thermometers in the Portuguese cancer population.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

This study aimed to determine the cutoff and the specificity and sensitivity of the Emotion Thermometers (ET) in a Portuguese sample of cancer patients.

METHOD:

A total of 147 patients (mean age = 49.2; SD = 12.6) completed the ET, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Subjective Experiences of Illness Suffering Inventory. Data were collected in a cancer support institution and in a major hospital in the North of Portugal.

RESULT:

The optimal cutoff for the Anxiety Thermometer was 5v6 (until 5 and 6 or more), which identified 74% of the BSI-anxiety cases and 70% of noncases. The Depression Thermometer cutoff was 4v5 (until 4 and 5 or more), which identified 85% of BSI-depression cases and 82% of noncases. Cutoff for the Anger Thermometer was 4v5 (until 4 and 5 or more), which identified 83% of BSI-hostility cases and 73% of noncases; for the Distress Thermometer, the optimal cutoff was 4v5 (until 4 and 5 or more), which identified 84% of the suffering cases and 73% of noncases. Finally, for the Help Thermometer, it was 3v4 (until 3 and 4 or more), which helped to identify 93% of the suffering cases and 64% of noncases.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS:

Results supported the Portuguese version of the ET as an important screening tool for identifying the emotional distress in cancer patients.

• Authors: Ricardo João Teixeira, José C Machado, Sara Faria, Sónia Remondes-Costa, Tânia Brandão, Margarida Branco, Sara Moreira, M Graça Pereira
• Journal: Palliative & supportive care (Palliat Support Care) Vol. 18 Issue 1 Pg. 39-46 (02 2020) ISSN: 1478-9523 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 31164179 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Adult
• Anxiety (complications, diagnosis, psychology)
• Depression (complications, diagnosis, psychology)
• Emotions
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Mass Screening (methods, statistics & numerical data)
• Medical Oncology (instrumentation, methods)
• Middle Aged
• Neoplasms (complications, psychology)
• Portugal
• Psychometrics (instrumentation, methods)
• Surveys and Questionnaires