Validation of an instrument to assess health care quality (FACIT-TS-PS) in cancer patients.

Abstract

Cancer patient satisfaction with the healthcare team is of great relevance for assessing the quality of the care provided by the health system. In Mexico, no valid and reliable tool is available to assess this construct. To validate the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Treatment Satisfaction-Patient Satisfaction (FACIT-TS-PS) instrument, version 4, in cancer patients. Cross-sectional design, non-probability convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 200 cancer-diagnosed patients, with mean age of 45.86 ± 15.01 years. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. The exploratory factor analysis identified four factors, with a Cronbach alpha of 0.945, and an explained variance of 68.15 %. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the proposed theoretical model adjusts to the data with an error close to zero and, in addition, it is balanced and carefully measures overall patient satisfaction with the treatment. FACIT-TS-PS was shown to be a valid and reliable instrument for use in clinical care and research in Mexican cancer patients. Its use is recommended in the evaluation of oncology multidisciplinary healthcare teams in Mexico.