DNP student DePaul University Countryside, Illinois, United States
Introduction: With the emergence of many novel therapies, the treatment decisions for multiple myeloma (MM) are increasingly guided by concerns of quality of life, achievement of cancer-free remission, living a longer overall survival, and a relentless search for a cure; however, the impact of these various treatment options on patients’ choices and lives is mainly unknown. Oncology clinicians face the challenge of uncovering their patient’s preferences and values and putting them into the actual treatment decision-making.
Purpose: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Values and Preferences Elicitation Questionnaire-Cure and Survival Preference Scale (VPEQ-CSPS) instrument.
Methods: The VPEQ-CSPS instrument was deployed using an anonymous Qualtrics online survey to patients diagnosed with MM within the network of International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) online patient support groups across the US. One hundred seventy-four (N=174) valid responses were obtained and used to examine the validity and reliability of the VPEQ-CSPS.
Results: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of 0.72 indicating excellent sample adequacy and a statistically significant Bartlett’s test of sphericity (p < 0.001) indicating significant correlations among the variables of the dataset to conduct the EFA. The internal consistency coefficients indicated high reliability of the instrument with Cronbach’s alpha value at 0.80. The EFA and parallel analysis revealed the 5-item VPEQ-CSPS as a valid and reliable unidimensional scale that can be used by oncology clinicians to elicit their patient’s personal values and preferences and achieve shared decision-making for myeloma treatment decisions.
Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that VPEQ-CSPS is a 5-item unidimensional instrument with strong psychometric properties designed to elicit patient values and preferences for remission, survival, and cure. It addresses the communication gap during cancer treatment decision-making for MM. The information and data that the VPEQ-CSPS can elicit are essential to SDM and patient-centered care in patients with MM.
