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The Impact of Cancer Scale (IOC) in Italian long-term cancer survivors: adaptation and psychometric evaluation

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Abstract

Purpose

The Impact of Cancer Scale (IOC) is a self-assessment tool designed to capture the unique and multidimensional aspects of the quality of life of long-term cancer survivors. This paper describes the adaptation and psychometric evaluation of its Italian version.

Methods

After the adaptation (i.e., removal of nonpertinent items and back-translation procedure), the Italian version of IOC has been administered to a sample of Italian long-term cancer survivors (people free from cancer and its treatments for at least 5 years) together with the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30, and the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory.

Results

Data on 304 participants were analyzed. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure composed of Uncertainty/Worry about Health & Future (13 items), Personal Growth & Altruism (14 items), and Dissatisfaction & Life Interferences (10 items). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, >0.77) and temporal stability (Spearman's rho, >0.70) were good for all three factors. The obtained three factors correlated with the theoretically pertinent subscales of the other administered tools. To facilitate cross-cultural comparisons, reliability and convergent/divergent validity data for the eight-factor IOC structure already described in literature (Impact of Cancer Version 2) have been also provided.

Conclusions

This study supports the use of the IOC in Italy as a trifactorial instrument that is able to isolate aspects characteristic of the condition of long-term cancer survivorship. However, subsequent studies are needed to confirm these findings as well as shed more light on the validity of the IOC construct and its cultural variability.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Patricia A. Ganz, MD and Dr. Catherine M. Crespi, PhD for their precious advice on the first draft of the paper and Ms Anna Vallerugo, MA, for her writing assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, National Cancer Institute, Aviano, Italy

    Barbara Muzzatti, Cristiana Flaiban & Maria Antonietta Annunziata

  2. Istituto Tumori “Giovanni Paolo II”, National Cancer Institute, Bari, Italy

    Francesca Romito & Claudia Cormio

  3. Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Via F. Gallini, 2, 33081, Aviano, PN, Italy

    Maria Antonietta Annunziata

Authors
  1. Barbara Muzzatti
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  2. Cristiana Flaiban
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  3. Francesca Romito
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  4. Claudia Cormio
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  5. Maria Antonietta Annunziata
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Correspondence to Maria Antonietta Annunziata.

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Muzzatti, B., Flaiban, C., Romito, F. et al. The Impact of Cancer Scale (IOC) in Italian long-term cancer survivors: adaptation and psychometric evaluation. Support Care Cancer 21, 3355–3362 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-013-1909-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-013-1909-1

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