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Validation of Chinese and English versions of the Holistic Well-being Scale in patients with cancer

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Abstract

Objective

The study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Holistic Well-Being Scale (HWS), a new instrument developed on the Eastern concepts of affliction, and equanimity in a new sample involving patients with cancer.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 300 patients with cancer in Singapore. The patients completed the HWS, WHO-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5), and Hospital Anxiety and Depressions Scale (HADS). Thirty-two patients participated in the 2-week retest.

Results

Mixed findings were obtained from the original seven-factor model in our sample: six factors had acceptable internal reliabilities (Cronbach’s α; range, 0.657–0.809), and construct validities were partially supported. Factor analysis suggested three factors: Blissful-self (α = 0.874), Disturbed-self (α = 0.885) and Embittered-others (α = 0.709). The novel factors demonstrated good test-retest reliability (ICC; range, 0.894–0.930) and construct validities, which were shown by significant correlations with HADS and WHO-5 in the predicted directions.

Conclusions

The present study is the first step taken to validate a scale that is essential in the development of culturally appropriate psychosocial interventions to support and promote personal well-being of cancer patients. The findings suggest that the three-factor model may be more applicable to the Singapore context, but it does not necessarily invalidate the original HWS. The results were discussed in terms of the meaning of the original HWS factors and cultural differences in coping behaviors between Singapore and Hong Kong, though both are Asian countries. The HWS could be further tested in other Asian populations as achieving holistic well-being is a common goal for patients in many cultures.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the patients and medical social workers from NCCS who participated in this study. We thank Professor Cecilia Chan for her professional inputs to the paper preparation. There was no funding support for the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Block AS3 Level 4, 3 Arts Link, Singapore, 117570, Singapore

    Geok Ling Lee

  2. Department of Psychosocial Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Gilbert Kam Tong Fan

  3. School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia

    Sally Wai Chi Chan

Authors
  1. Geok Ling Lee
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  2. Gilbert Kam Tong Fan
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  3. Sally Wai Chi Chan
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Correspondence to Geok Ling Lee.

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Lee, G.L., Fan, G.K.T. & Chan, S.W.C. Validation of Chinese and English versions of the Holistic Well-being Scale in patients with cancer. Support Care Cancer 23, 3563–3571 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-015-2736-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-015-2736-3

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