Research Center in Psychology (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Psychogeriatrics. 2021 Mar;21(2):185-192. doi: 10.1111/psyg.12653. Epub 2021 Jan 19.
Multiple myeloma (MM) affects mainly the older population and is the second most prevalent haematologic cancer. MM patients' unmet needs are diverse, arise at different stages, and are associated with greater psychological distress. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Short-Form Survivor Unmet Needs Survey (SF-SUNS) in Portuguese MM patients.
This cross-sectional study included 213 MM patients. The internal consistency of the scale was analyzed with Cronbach's α. Principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess construct validity. Convergent validity was examined by using correlations with quality of life, satisfaction with social support, and psychological morbidity. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to explore the contribution of sociodemographic and clinical variables to unmet needs.
The Portuguese SF-SUNS's factor structure follows the original's structure, although it includes fewer items. For each domain, Cronbach's α was ≤0.70, the minimum acceptable criterion. For construct validity, only unmet relationship and emotional needs had significant correlations (r ≥ 0.40)-specifically negative associations with quality of life and social support and positive associations with psychological morbidity. Regarding patient variables and SF-SUNS results, only cancer stage contributed significantly to unmet information needs, with patients at stage I reporting more needs than patients at stage III.
The SF-SUNS represents a valid and reliable tool to assess unmet needs among Portuguese MM patients. It may be useful in designing and monitoring interventions to improve well-being in cancer survivors.
多发性骨髓瘤（MM）主要影响老年人群，是第二大常见的血液系统癌症。MM 患者的未满足需求多种多样，出现在不同阶段，并与更大的心理困扰相关。本研究旨在检验葡萄牙语 MM 患者短式生存者未满足需求调查（SF-SUNS）的心理计量学特性。
本横断面研究纳入了 213 名 MM 患者。采用 Cronbach's α 分析量表的内部一致性。采用主成分分析和验证性因子分析评估结构效度。通过与生活质量、社会支持满意度和心理病态的相关性检验，考察聚合效度。采用多元回归分析，探究社会人口学和临床变量对未满足需求的贡献。
葡萄牙语 SF-SUNS 的因子结构遵循原始结构，但包含的项目较少。对于每个领域，Cronbach's α 值均≤0.70，为可接受的最低标准。对于结构效度，只有未满足的关系和情感需求与生活质量、社会支持具有显著相关性（r≥0.40）——与心理病态呈正相关，与生活质量和社会支持呈负相关。对于患者变量和 SF-SUNS 结果，仅癌症分期对信息需求的未满足有显著贡献，I 期患者比 III 期患者报告的需求更多。
SF-SUNS 是评估葡萄牙语 MM 患者未满足需求的有效可靠工具。它可能有助于设计和监测干预措施，以提高癌症幸存者的幸福感。
