The validity of the distress thermometer in female partners of men with prostate cancer
Abstract
Female partners of prostate cancer (PCa) survivors experience heightened psychological distress that may be greater than that expressed by PCa patients. However, optimal approaches to detect distressed, or at risk of distress, partners are unclear. This study applied receiver operating characteristics analysis to evaluate diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the Distress Thermometer (DT) compared to widely used measures of general (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and cancer-specific (Impact of Events Scale-Revised) distress. Participants were partners of men with localised PCa (recruited around diagnosis) about to undergo or had received surgical treatment (N = 189), and partners of men diagnosed with PCa who were 2-4 years post-treatment (N = 460). In both studies, diagnostic utility of the DT overall was not optimal. Although area under the curve scores were acceptable (ranges: 0.71-0.92 and 0.83-0.94 for general and cancer-specific distress, respectively), sensitivity, specificity and optimal DT cut-offs for partner distress varied for general (range: ≥2 to ≥5) and cancer-specific (range: ≥3 to ≥5) distress both across time and between cohorts. Thus, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the diagnostic capabilities of the DT for partners or recommend its use in this population. More comprehensive screening measures may be needed to detect partners needing psychological intervention.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2019
ISSN
1365-2354
Volume
28
Issue
1
PubMed ID
30252180
Publication Title
European Journal of Cancer Care
Publisher
John Wiley and Sons, Ltd
School
Exercise Medicine Research Institute
RAS ID
31178
Grant Number
NHMRC Number : 496001
Copyright
free_to_read
First Page
12924
Last Page
12924
Comments
Hyde, M. K., Zajdlewicz, L., Lazenby, M., Dunn, J., Laurie, K., Lowe, A., & Chambers, S. K. (2019). The validity of the Distress Thermometer in female partners of men with prostate cancer. European Journal of Cancer Care, 28(1), Article e12924. Available here