Development of the opioid self-management scale for advanced Cancer patients with pain and examination of its validity and reliability

Abstract

BackgroundApproximately 60% of outpatients with advanced cancer experience pain; therefore, self-management of opioid use is important for appropriate pain relief. To date, no studies have clearly described the concept of opioid self-management or assessed the factors involved, including the improvement of self-management abilities. This study developed, and evaluated the validity and reliability of an opioid self-management scale for advanced cancer patients with pain (OSSA). Opioid self-management in advanced cancer patients with pain was defined as the management of opioid medication performed by patients with advanced cancer to relieve cancer pain on their own.MethodsThree phases were required for validation and reliability of the OSSA: 1) testing content validity, 2) testing face validity, and 3) testing construct validity, concurrent validity and reliability.ResultsAfter a three-phase process, the OSSA consisted of 33 items on six subscales. The structural equation modeling was such that the χ2 value was 709.8 (p < 0.001, df = 467), goodness-of-fit index was 0.78, adjusted goodness-of-fit index was 0.73, root mean squares of approximation was 0.063, and comparative fit index was 0.92. The Pearson correlation coefficients between the total OSSA score and the 24-hour average pain or pain relief over 24 hours were − 0.21 (p < 0.05) and 0.26 (p < 0.01), respectively. Cronbach’s α was 0.93. The intraclass correlation coefficient range was 0.59–0.90.ConclusionThe findings of this study show that the OSSA has acceptable validity and reliability, and that better self-management leads to greater pain relief. The OSSA can be considered effective for use in research, but shortened version should be prepared for realistic and practical clinical use.