Development of an oral assessment tool to evaluate appetite in patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiotherapy

Purpose: The objective of this study was to develop an oral assessment tool for evaluating the appetite of patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiotherapy, who had dysgeusia, xerostomia, and oral mucositis, as well as to verify its validity and reliability. Methods and sample: A draft oral assessment tool, which included a 5-point scale and 19 items, was prepared based on an interview survey of 30 patients. The resultant questionnaire survey was provided to 209 subjects. Results: On the basis of factor analysis of construct validity, 3 factors (dysgeusia and loss of favors), (salivation abnormality and loss of moisture in the oral cavity), and (pain in the oral cavity and lack of motivation) comprising 14 items were adopted for the final survey. During a review of criteria validity, a correlation was found between the scores of the three factors and overall oral assessment tool, and the scores of taste sensitivity, xerostomia, oral mucositis, and appetite with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.41-0.89 (p < 0.01). With regard to reliability, stability was determined as 0.87 (p < 0.01) according to test retest study results. Internal consistency was confirmed by a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.83 (p < 0.01) and an interclass correlation coefficient of 0.80 (p < 0.01). Conclusions: On the basis of the validity and reliability of the oral assessment tool developed, it has been found to be practical for use in the assessment of appetite of patients with head and neck cancer. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.