Psychometric evaluation of a head and neck cancer lymphoedema measure
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Preliminary psychometric evaluation of the ‘Guy’s Head and Neck Oedema Patient Reported Measure’ in people with head and neck lymphoedema secondary to cancer and/or cancer treatment
IRAS ID
263638
Contact name
Lyndsay Hughes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 11 days
Research summary
Lymphoedema of the head and neck is a chronic condition that can have debilitating physical and psychological effects. It is the swelling of the head and neck area caused by a fault/damage in the lymphatic system that is responsible for drainage of lymph fluid. There are currently limited tools that measure patient reported outcomes in head and neck lymphoedema patients. Clinicians at the Guy's Cancer Centre have developed a new tool to measure patient reported outcomes, that could be eventually used in practice to quickly assess patients' perspectives regarding their head and neck lymphoedema.
This research involves conducting a preliminary psychometric evaluation of the new measure. This will be done in three stages: Stage 1 involves assessing face validity by presenting the measure to health care professionals that work with lymphoedema patients. Their feedback will be used to make any preliminary changes to the measure. Stage 2 consists of asking people with lymphoedema secondary to head and neck cancer to complete the measure whilst participating in a cognitive interview. This will involve talking aloud and verbal probing. Changes will be made to the measure based on patient feedback. Stage 3 is a repetition of Stage 2, which will allow assessment of any changes made. The measure will also be tested for reliability using Cronbach's alpha, a statistical test of internal consistency.REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1028
Date of REC Opinion
22 Aug 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion