EW and Self-Guided PST in Cancer Survivors and Caregivers

The PTGI is a 21-item scale designed to assess individual growth following the experience of a traumatic experience, e.g. cancer. The items load onto 5 factors: personal strength, new possibilities, improved relationships, spiritual growth, and appreciation for life.Items are rated 0-5 and a total score is calculated by summing the responses to all items. Higher scores represent greater post-traumatic growth. There are also 5 factors which are scored by summing the items associated with each factor: Relating to Others; New Possibilities; Personal Strength; Spiritual Change; Appreciation of Life. Higher factor scores represent higher levels of each factor.

This measure consists of both multi-item and single-item scales. Raw scores are calculated for each scale, then transformed using linear transformation to standardize the raw score so that scores range from 0-100. Higher scores on functioning and quality of life scales represent better functioning/quality of life; higher scores on symptom scales represent worse functioning/quality of life.

The Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) is an 8-item measure developed for use in clinical and research settings to assess symptoms of depression. Scores can be categorized into mild, moderate, and severe symptom severity. Items are rated 0-3 and a total score is calculated by summing the responses to all items. Higher scores represent greater symptoms of depression.

The PSS-10 is a 10-item scale used to assess self-reported stress. Items are scored 0-4 and a total score is calculated by summing the responses to all items. Higher scores represent greater perceived stress.

The New General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES-N) is an 8-item measure that assesses how much people believe that they can achieve their goals despite encountering barriers, challenges, or difficulties. Items are scored 1-5 and a total score is calculated by averaging the responses to all items. Higher scores represent greater perceived self-efficacy.

The MSPSS is a 12-item questionnaire of perceived social support from three sources: family, friends, and significant other. Items are scored 1-7 and a total score is calculated by averaging the responses to all items. There are also 3 subscales whose scores are calculated by averaging the responses to the associated items: Significant Other; Family; Friends. Higher scores represent greater perceived social support in total and for each subscale.

The FES-R is a 27-item true/false measure designed to characterize social and environmental characteristics of families: Cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict, The FES items are arranged so that each column of responses on the answer sheet constitutes one subscale. The number of responses given in the keyed direction as identified on the scoring key in each column, and enter the total in the raw score (RS) box at the bottom. (it's added, some are reverse coded). To determine the family's mean RS for each subscale, average the subscale raw scores for all members of that family. Relationship-Oriented Families. These families cannot be categorized as personal growth-oriented and have at least one elevated subscale within the relationship domain. Relationship-oriented families include: Ø Support-oriented families (15.3 percent; cohesion or expressiveness or both ≥ 60 and either cohesion or expressiveness ≥ conflict) Ø Conflict-oriented families (5.2 percent; conflict ≥ 60)

The CCAT-PF is an 18-item questionnaire that assesses congruence in patient-family caregiver communication; there are parallel versions of the instrument for patients and family members. Items are scored 1-6 and a total score is calculated by summing the responses to all items. Higher scores indicate greater perceived conflict.

The CBS is a 22-item self-report measure that assesses perceptions of burden related to providing care to someone with a chronic illness. The CBS has 5 factors: general strain, isolation, disappointment, emotional involvement, and environment. Items are scored 0-4 and a total score is calculated by summing the responses to all items. Higher scores indicate greater perceived burden.

The EORTC QLQ-30 is a 30-item self-report measure designed to assess health-related quality of life of cancer patients enrolled in clinical trials. It consists of both multi-item and single-item scales with higher scores reflecting higher scale value: for example, a high score on a symptom scale reflects higher symptom burden; a high score on a functional scale represents a higher level of functioning. The average raw score for each scale is transformed so that it falls within a range from 0 to 100.