Measuring patient satisfaction in oncology palliative care: psychometric properties of the FAMCARE-patient scale

We provide preliminary psychometric results concerning the use of a modified FAMCARE scale, adapted for patient use, to assess satisfaction with outpatient care in advanced stage cancer patients. Participants were 145 outpatients with advanced cancer who were participating in a phase II trial of an outpatient palliative care intervention. Patients completed our modified FAMCARE measure of patient satisfaction and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale, a measure of symptom burden. Individuals were also assessed for performance status using the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scale. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis of the patient satisfaction measure and performed correlations of satisfaction with symptom burden as well as with performance status. Factor analysis of the satisfaction measure revealed a one-factor structure and suggested the removal of one nonloading item, producing a 16-item scale (FAMCARE-P16) with high internal reliability. Patient satisfaction was not correlated with performance status, but was inversely associated with symptom burden, particularly with depression and anxiety. The FAMCARE-P16 may be used to assess satisfaction with outpatient palliative care interventions of patients with advanced stage cancer in both clinical settings and prospective trials.