Abstract
Individuals with cancer are at high risk for restricted participation in meaningful life activities such as work, school, and social activities. Evaluating participation in life activities is identified as a critical component of rehabilitation referral and triage systems. This scoping review investigates what assessments are used to measure participation in life activities in individuals with cancer. Six databases were systematically searched using keywords and controlled vocabulary through February 2020. Eligible studies used the term participation in the context of life situations and had an assessment with at least 5 participation-specific questions. A total of 4604 unique articles were identified and screened for eligibility. Thirty-two studies were included; 20 unique assessments of participation were identified. Assessments were developed with the primary purpose of measuring participation (n = 8); global or physical function (n = 9); community integration (n = 1); social activity (n = 1); or occupational gaps (n = 1). Most assessments (12/20) were not developed with the purpose of measuring participation and only 4 assessments measured key components of participation other than frequency. Measuring participation in life activities is a developing area in oncology research. Most studies do not accurately or comprehensively measure this construct. The heterogeneity in assessments used indicates no clear consensus on a gold-standard participation measure for use among cancer survivors. Comprehensively measuring participation will help identify individuals in need of rehabilitation services and is an essential first step to inform the development of targeted interventions to enhance participation.
Highlights
There is a critical need to facilitate return to work, school, and life activities among individuals with and surviving cancer. Each of these areas is a component of participation, defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as involvement in a life situation
Studies were eligible for inclusion if they (1) used the term participation or participate in the context of involvement in a life situation; (2) included individuals with cancer; (3) defined a specific assessment as a measure of participation and/or if the assessment contained at least 5 questions pertaining to participation; (4) reported results or conclusions about participation based on assessment results; (5) were published in any year or language; and (6) were peer-reviewed articles, dissertations, or book chapters
During the project planning phase, we identified three articles [21, 22, 27] that conducted similar studies synthesizing and evaluating tools used to measure participation
Summary
There is a critical need to facilitate return to work, school, and life activities among individuals with and surviving cancer. Each of these areas is a component of participation, defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as involvement in a life situation. Before developing interventions to address participation, we must first understand how this concept is measured This scoping review investigates what assessments are currently used to measure participation in life activities in individuals with cancer. Little is known about how these factors interplay to impact participation in life activities in individuals with cancer
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