The Basic Documentation for Psycho-Oncology (PO-Bado) – an Expert Rating Scale for the Psychosocial Experience of Cancer Patients

Abstract

Background: The integration of psycho-oncology into the medical care of cancer patients requires a transparent, reliable, and valid assessment of psychosocial stress. The Basic Documentation for Psycho-Oncology (PO-Bado), including a short version and a breast cancerspecific version, is such an instrument. The purpose of this article is to present the current stage of development of the 3 versions. Patients and Methods: All versions of the PO-Bado were developed and psychometrically evaluated based on the empirical analysis of multiple oncological samples. External criteria for the validation and determination of cut-off scores were the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Questionnaire on Stress in Cancer Patients, and the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire. Inter-rater reliability was examined by different psycho-oncologists who independently rated PO-Bado interviews. Results: Three versions of the PO-Bado are presented: the standard version (PO-Bado, 17 items), the short form (PO-Bado SF, 7 items), and the breast cancerspecific version (PO-Bado BC, 21 items). A manual and interview guideline are provided for all versions. By now, the standard version has been implemented throughout Germany and includes data of 6,365 patients. Conclusion: A consistent nationwide implementation of the PO-Bado for the assessment of psychosocial stress in cancer patients would contribute to the improvement of medical care.

Psychosocial distress in acute cancer patients assessed with an expert rating scale

“…The PO-Bado SF [24] includes three parts: questions on demographic and medical characteristics and on psychosocial stress, a manual explaining the rating criteria for the items, and an interview guideline. Materials and information can be downloaded from http://www.po-bado.med.tum.de.…”

“…To overcome these limitations, the basic documentation for psycho-oncology (PO-Bado) has been developed as a cancer-specific expert rating scale [22,23]. As this scale still turned out to be too long for integration in the routine admission procedure in acute clinical settings, a six-item short form (basic documentation for psycho-oncology short form (PO-Bado SF)) was devised [24].…”

Distress in Cancer Patients and Their Caregivers and Association with the Caregivers' Perception of Dyadic Communication

“…Medical data such as tumor localization, occurrence and type of metastases, disease duration and stage were recorded according to the Basic Documentation for Psycho-Oncology (PO-Bado, [15]). For subsequent refusal/non-responder analysis, age, gender, and reason for refusal/non-response were documented.…”

Psychische Komorbidität bei Krebserkrankungen

“…Die allgemeine psychische Belastung kann zum Beispiel durch die deutschsprachige Adaptation des sogenannten Distress-Thermometers [37,38] gemessen werden, mit dem der Patient Ausmaß und Art seiner Belastung einstuft. Weitere Optionen sind der Hornheider-Fragebogen sowie die psychoonkologische Basisdokumentation (PO-Bado) [39], die als Fremdeinschätzungsver-fahren konzipiert ist. Häufig eingesetzte Fragebogenverfahren zur Diagnose von Angst und Depression sind die Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) [40] oder der Gesundheitsfragebogen für Patienten (PHQ) [41,42,43], für die unter anderem auch Vergleichswerte für Tumorpatienten vorliegen.…”