Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T00:39:09.980Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Brief emotional screening in oncology: Specificity and sensitivity of the emotion thermometers in the Portuguese cancer population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2019

Ricardo João Teixeira Open the ORCID record for Ricardo João Teixeira [Opens in a new window] ,
José C. Machado Open the ORCID record for José C. Machado [Opens in a new window] ,
Sara Faria Open the ORCID record for Sara Faria [Opens in a new window] ,
Sónia Remondes-Costa Open the ORCID record for Sónia Remondes-Costa [Opens in a new window] ,
Tânia Brandão Open the ORCID record for Tânia Brandão [Opens in a new window] ,
Margarida Branco ,
Sara Moreira  and
M. Graça Pereira Open the ORCID record for M. Graça Pereira [Opens in a new window]
Ricardo João Teixeira
Affiliation:
University of Minho, School of Psychology, Braga, Portugal
José C. Machado
Affiliation:
University of Minho, Social Sciences Institute, Braga, Portugal
Sara Faria
Affiliation:
University of Minho, School of Psychology, Braga, Portugal
Sónia Remondes-Costa
Affiliation:
University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Department of Education and Psychology, Vila Real, Portugal
Tânia Brandão
Affiliation:
CIP, Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa Luís de Camões, Lisboa, Portugal CPUP, Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Margarida Branco
Affiliation:
Liaison Psychiatry and Health Psychology Unit - Psychiatry and Mental Health Service, Oporto Hospital Centre, Porto, Portugal
Sara Moreira
Affiliation:
Liaison Psychiatry and Health Psychology Unit - Psychiatry and Mental Health Service, Oporto Hospital Centre, Porto, Portugal
M. Graça Pereira*
Affiliation:
University of Minho, School of Psychology, Braga, Portugal
*
Author for correspondence: M. Graça Pereira, University of Minho, School of Psychology, Department of Applied Psychology, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057Braga, Portugal. Email: gracep@psi.uminho.pt
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to determine the cutoff and the specificity and sensitivity of the Emotion Thermometers (ET) in a Portuguese sample of cancer patients.

Method

A total of 147 patients (mean age = 49.2; SD = 12.6) completed the ET, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Subjective Experiences of Illness Suffering Inventory. Data were collected in a cancer support institution and in a major hospital in the North of Portugal.

Result

The optimal cutoff for the Anxiety Thermometer was 5v6 (until 5 and 6 or more), which identified 74% of the BSI-anxiety cases and 70% of noncases. The Depression Thermometer cutoff was 4v5 (until 4 and 5 or more), which identified 85% of BSI-depression cases and 82% of noncases. Cutoff for the Anger Thermometer was 4v5 (until 4 and 5 or more), which identified 83% of BSI-hostility cases and 73% of noncases; for the Distress Thermometer, the optimal cutoff was 4v5 (until 4 and 5 or more), which identified 84% of the suffering cases and 73% of noncases. Finally, for the Help Thermometer, it was 3v4 (until 3 and 4 or more), which helped to identify 93% of the suffering cases and 64% of noncases.

Significance of results

Results supported the Portuguese version of the ET as an important screening tool for identifying the emotional distress in cancer patients.

Keywords

Emotion thermometersDistressCancerPortugalValidation
Type
Original Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 39 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American College of Surgeons (2012) Commission on cancer. Cancer program standards 2012: Ensuring patient-centered care. V1.2.1. Chicago: American College of Surgeons.Google Scholar
Antoni, MH, Lechner, S, Diaz, A, et al. (2009) Cognitive behavioral stress management effects on psychosocial and physiological adaptation in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 23(5), 580–591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baker-Glenn, EA and Mitchell, AJ (2008) Screening for perceived need for help using the latest screening tools - what do we know about who wants help? Psycho-Oncology 17, S56–S57.Google Scholar
Beck, KR, Tan, SM, Lum, SS, et al. (2016) Validation on the emotion thermometers and hospital anxiety and depression scales in Singapore: Screening cancer patients for distress, anxiety and depression. Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology 12(2), e241–e249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boberg, EW, Gustafson, DH, Hawkins, RP, et al. (2003) Assessing the unmet information, support and care delivery needs of men with prostate cancer. Patient Education and Counseling 49(3), 233–242.10.1016/S0738-3991(02)00183-0CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bultz, BD and Carlson, LE (2006) Emotional distress: The sixth vital sign-future directions in cancer care. Psycho-Oncology 15(2), 93–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bultz, BD and Holland, JC (2006) Emotional distress in patients with cancer: The sixth vital sign. Psychosocial Oncology 3(5), 311–314.Google Scholar
Canavarro, MC (1999) Inventário de Sintomas Psicopatológicos - BSI [Brief Symptom Inventory – BSI]. In Simões, MR, Gonçalves, M, and Almeida, LS (Eds), Testes e provas psicológicas em Portugal [Psychological tests in Portugal], Vol. II, Braga, Portugal: Apport.Google Scholar
Carlson, LE and Bultz, BD (2003) Cancer distress screening. Needs, models, and methods. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 55(5), 403–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cordes, MC, Scherwath, A, Ahmad, T, et al. (2014) Distress, anxiety and depression in patients with brain metastases before and after radiotherapy. BMC Cancer 14(731).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Derogatis, LR and Spencer, PM (1982) Administration and procedures: BSI manual I. Baltimore: Clinical Psychometric Research.Google Scholar
Fallowfield, L, Ratcliffe, D, Jenkins, V, et al. (2001) Psychiatric morbidity and its recognition by doctors in patients with cancer. British Journal of Cancer 84(8), 1011–1015.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Faul, JA, Heather, SJ, Williams, C, et al. (2010) Relationships of stress management skill to psychological distress and quality of life in adults with cancer. Psycho-Oncology 19(1), 102–109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gameiro, MH (1999) O Sofrimento na doença [Suffering in illness]. Coimbra, Portugal: Quarteto Editora.Google Scholar
Garafalo, JP, Choppala, S, Hamann, H, et al. (2009) Uncertainty during the transition from cancer patient to survivor. Cancer Nursing 32(4), 8–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gessler, S, Law, J, Daniells, E, et al. (2008) Screening for distress in cancer patients: Is the thermometer distress a valid measure in UK and does it measure change over time? A prospective validation study. Psycho-Oncology 17(6), 538–547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gil, F, Grassi, L, Travado, L, et al. (2005) Use of distress depression thermometers to measure psychosocial morbility among southern European cancer patients. Supportive Care in Cancer 13(8), 600–606.Google Scholar
Graves, KD, Arnold, SM, Love, CL, et al. (2007) Distress screening in a multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic: Prevalence and predictors of clinically significant distress. Lung Cancer 55(2), 215–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gusani, NJ, Schubart, JR, Wise, J, et al. (2009) Cancer survivorship: A new challenge for surgical and medical oncologists. Journal of General Internal Medicine 24(2), 456–458.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hinz, A, Mitchell, AJ, Dégi, CL, et al. (2019) Normative values for the distress thermometer (DT) and the emotion thermometers (ET), derived from a German general population sample. Quality of Life Research 28, 277–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holland, JC and Mastrovito, R (1980) Psychological adaptation to breast cancer. Cancer 15(46), 1045–1052.3.0.CO;2-2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iscoe, N, Williams, JI, Szalai, JP, et al. (1991) Prediction of psychosocial distress in patients with cancer. In Osoba, D. (Ed.), Effect of cancer on quality of life (pp. 41–59). London: CRC Press.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, PB (2007) Screening for psychological distress in cancer patients: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Clinical Oncology 25(29), 4526–4527.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacobsen, PB and Heather, SJ (2008) Psychological interventions for anxiety and depression in adult cancer patients achievements and challenges. Cancer Journal for Clinicians 58(4), 214–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lown, B (2007) Difficult conversations: Anger in the clinician-patient/family relationship. Southern Medical Journal 100(1), 33–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, GP, O'Connell, M, and Lutgendorf, SK (2013) Psychoneuroimmunology and cancer: a decade of discovery, paradigm shifts, and methodological innovations. Brain, Behavior and Immunity 30(Suppl 15), S1–S9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIntyre, T and Gameiro, M (1999) Inventário de Experiências Subjectivas de Sofrimento na Doença [Illness Subjective Suffering Inventory]. In Soares, A, Araújo, S, & Caíres, A (Eds.), Avaliação Psicológica: Formas e Contextos [Psychological Assessment: Forms and Contexts] (pp. 723–736). Braga: APPORT.Google Scholar
Mitchell, AJ (2007) Pooled results from 38 analyses of the accuracy of distress thermometer and other ultra-short methods of detecting cancer-related mood disorders. Journal of Clinical Oncology 25(29), 4670–4681.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitchell, AJ (2010a) Screening procedures for psychosocial distress. In Holland, JC, Breitbart, WS, Jacobsen, PB, et al. (Eds.), Psycho-Oncology (2nd ed., pp. 389–398). New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, AJ (2010b) Short screening tools for cancer-related distress: A review and diagnostic validity meta-analysis. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 8(4), 487–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, AJ and Coyne, JC (2009) Screening for depression in clinical practice: An evidence-based guide. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, AJ, Baker-Glenn, EA, Granger, L, et al. (2010a) Can the Distress Thermometer be improved by additional mood domains? Part I. Initial validation of the Emotion Thermometers tool. Psycho-Oncology 19(2), 125–133.Google Scholar
Mitchell, AJ, Baker-Glenn, EA, Park, B, et al. (2010b) Can the Distress Thermometer be improved by additional mood domains? Part II. What is the optimal combination of Emotion Thermometers? Psycho-Oncology 19(2), 134–140.Google Scholar
Mitchell, AJ, Chan, M, Bhotti, H, et al. (2011) Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder in oncological, haematological, and palliative-care settings: A meta-analysis of 94 interview-based studies. Lancet Oncology 12(2), 160–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitchell, AJ, Lord, K, and Symonds, P (2012) Which symptoms are indicative of DSM-IV depression in cancer settings? An analysis of the diagnostic significance of somatic and non-somatic symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders 138(1–2), 137–148.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitchell, AJ, Morgan, JP, Petersen, D, et al. (2012) Validation of simple visual-analogue thermometer screen for mood complications of cardiovascular disease: The Emotion Thermometers. Journal of Affective Disorders 136, 1257–1263.10.1016/j.jad.2011.06.008CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2007) NCCN clinical practice guidelines in oncology: distress management (V.1).Google Scholar
Pandey, M, Sarita, GP, Devi, N, et al. (2006) Distress, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. World Journal of Surgical Oncology 4(68).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Penedo, FJ, Dahn, JR, Kinsinger, D, et al. (2006) Anger suppression mediates the relationship between optimism and natural killer cell cytotoxicity in men treated for localized prostate cancer. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 60(4), 423–427.10.1016/j.jpsychores.2005.08.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Philip, J, Gold, M, Schwarz, M, et al. (2007) Anger in palliative care: A clinical approach. Internal Medicine Journal 37(1), 49–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pirl, WF, Muriel, A, Hwang, V, et al. (2007) Screening for psychosocial distress: A national survey of oncologists. Supportive Oncology 5(10), 499–504.Google ScholarPubMed
Rampling, J, Mitchell, AJ, Von Oertzen, T, et al. (2012) Screening for depression in epilepsy clinics. A comparison of conventional and visual-analog methods. Epilepsia 53, 1713–1721.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rebalance Focus Action Group (2005) A position paper: Screening key indicators in cancer patients—Pain as a 5th vital sign and emotional distress as a 6th vital sign. Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control Bulletin 7(4).Google Scholar
Reips, UD and Funke, F (2008) Interval-level measurement with visual analogue scales in Internet-based research: VAS Generator. Behavior Research Methods 40(3), 699–704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schubart, JR, Mitchell, A, Dietrich, L, et al. (2015) Accuracy of the Emotion Thermometers (ET) screening tool in patients undergoing surgery for upper gastrointestinal malignancies. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology 33(1), 1–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schubart, JR, Wise, J, Deshaies, I, et al. (2010) Quality of life assessment in postoperative patients with upper GI malignancies. Journal of Surgical Research 163(1), 40–46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spiegel, D and Giese-Davis, J (2003) Depression and cancer: Mechanisms and disease progression. Biological Psychiatry 54(3), 269–282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
VanHouse, L, Black, LL, Doty, K, et al. (2015) An analysis of the distress thermometer problem list and distress in patients with cancer. Supportive Care in Cancer 23(5), 1225–1232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar