Objective To assess the test-retest reliability of the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale translated and culturally adapted into Brazilian Portuguese.Methods The scale was applied in an interview format for 190 patients with various cancers type hospitalized in clinical and surgical sectors of the Instituto Nacional de Câncer José de Alencar Gomes da Silva and reapplied in 58 patients. Data from the test-retest were double typed into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analyzed by the weighted Kappa.Results The reliability of the scale was satisfactory in test-retest. The weighted Kappa values obtained for each scale item had to be adequate, the largest item was 0.96 and the lowest was 0.69. The Kappa subscale was also evaluated and values were 0.84 for high frequency physic symptoms, 0.81 for low frequency physical symptoms, 0.81 for psychological symptoms, and 0.78 for Global Distress Index.Conclusion High level of reliability estimated suggests that the process of measurement of Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale aspects was adequate.

Objective: To identify reasons among Brazilian women for never having a Pap test. Design:We designed a cross-sectional study that used data from the National Health Survey.Sample: Two thousand four hundred and two women 25-64 years old who never had a pap test.Measures: Variables were age, race, education, marital status, housing condition, primary health care access, health insurance, self-perceived health, and social support network. We calculated the prevalence of different reasons and odds ratios for each. Results:The most frequent reason for never having a test were linked to women thinking the test was unnecessary (42.3%) which had a significant association with marital

Introdução: A maioria dos pacientes não possui um grau satisfatório de compreensão acerca do câncer. Para que o processo de comunicação de informações seja verdadeiramente efetivo, e necessário identificar anteriormente o nível de conhecimento do paciente. Objetivo: Verificar a estabilidade teste-reteste do instrumento EORTC QLQ-INFO25 em sua versão em português do Brasil, para avaliação da necessidade de informação do paciente oncológico. Método: O instrumento foi aplicado em 253 pacientes hospitalizados nas enfermarias clinicas e cirúrgicas de um hospital de alta complexidade no tratamento do câncer situado no município do Rio de Janeiro, por meio de um questionário com entrevista individual. Para testar a adequação do processo de aferição, 85 pacientes aderiram ao reteste, com intervalo de sete a 15 dias. Os dados foram inseridos em um banco de dados por dupla digitação independente no programa Microsoft Excel. A análise foi realizada por meio da estatística Kappa simples e ponderada. Resultados: As respostas mostraram-se estáveis, e as estimativas de confiabilidade teste-reteste variaram de boas a excelentes (0,66 a 0,99). O instrumento também demonstrou boa estabilidade quando aplicado em outras populações e em pacientes com diferentes tipos de câncer. Conclusão: O instrumento EORTEC QLQ-INFO25 pode contribuir para a mensuração da satisfação do paciente em relação a sua necessidade de informação, uma vez que os resultados sugerem alta estabilidade das informações, tornando viável a sua aplicabilidade na população brasileira.

Objective: to describe the process of semantic equivalence, the first stage in the validation of the EORTC QLQ-ELD14 instrument for Brazilian Portuguese. Method: Direct and independent translations of the instrument into Portuguese were carried out and validated by a meeting of experts to generate a synthesis version. The version chosen was submitted to reverse translations into English, and the form was pre-tested with patients. At the conclusion of the process, a summary version was presented. The pre-test and the final version of the instrument were applied to a total of 28 patients at a high complexity oncology treatment center. Result: after completion of the first round of pretesting, some adjustments for the next phase of the study were necessary by the expert committee. After these adjustments, in the second phase of pre-testing, the instrument was wellaccepted by the population. Conclusion: the Portuguese summary version of the EORTC QLQ-ELD14 instrument for assessing the quality of life of elderly cancer patients is ready to be submitted to the next stages of the evaluation of its psychometric properties.