Validation of the Hong Kong Chinese version of the Support Person’s Unmet Needs Survey—Short Form

Abstract

This study describes the psychometric properties of a Hong Kong Chinese version of the short form of the Support Person’s Unmet Needs Survey (SPUNS-SF) for caregivers of patients with cancer. A convenience sample of 280 patient-caregiver dyads was recruited between April and June 2018. A subsample of 70 caregivers completed the survey again, two weeks later. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) examined the instrument’s factorial structure, ordinal alpha coefficients evaluated the internal consistency, and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) assessed the test-retest reliability. Convergence validity was evaluated by the correlations with sleep disturbance and caregiver burden in caregivers. The Hong Kong Chinese version of the SPUNS-SF (SPUNS-SFHKC) had a high completion rate of 96.8% (271/280) among caregivers. The original five-factor model provided an acceptable fit with the data in the CFA. The ordinal alpha coefficients were 0.866–0.945, and the two-week test-retest reliabilities were 0.524–0.678. The correlations of the five domains of the SPUNS-SFHKC with caregiver burden were 0.257–0.446, and for sleep disturbance were 0.075–0.464. The SPUNS-SFHKC has a suitable factor structure and psychometric properties for use in assessing unmet supportive needs among Chinese caregivers of patients with cancer. The applicability of the instrument for long-term use still needs to be studied.

Validation of the Needs Assessment of Family Caregivers-Cancer scale in an Asian population

“…Items were measured on a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Very much). Items 4,10,12,16,22,27,28, and 34 were reverse coded. Total score was computed by summing up all the items, with higher score indicating lower quality of life.…”

“…Several instruments have been developed to assess caregiver needs, such as the Cancer Caregiving Tasks, Consequences and Needs Questionnaire (CaTCoN) [10,11], Cancer Survivors' Partners Unmet Needs (CaSPUN) [12], Cancer Support Person's Unmet Needs (SPUNS) [13], Comprehensive Needs Assessment Tool for Cancer-Caregivers (CNAT-C) [14], and the Needs Assessment of Family Caregivers-Cancer (NAFC-C) [15]. Both the SPUNS and the CNAT-C have been validated and translated for use in Chinese populations [16,17]. However, only the NAFC-C, has been developed on a conceptual framework based on the Need Fulfillment Theory which enhances its clinical utility [18,19].…”

The Nature and Types of Community Palliative and end-of-Life Care Services: A Content Analysis of Service Provider Websites in Hong Kong

“…Local research has also reported this similar finding, indicating that caregivers have unmet support needs in personal care, practical household support, providing personal care, financial, legal and work issues, and equipment to care for patients. 30,31 The current findings suggest that there is an urgent need to ease caregiver burden by designing services to address their unmet needs.…”

Palliative and End-of-Life Care: More Work is Required

“…Two studies focused on the carer. Leung and colleagues [ 9 ] carried out the validation of the Support Person’s Unmet Needs Survey Short Form to measure the unmet needs of family caregivers taking care of cancer patients in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the five-factor structure of the original scale, consisting of information, future concerns, work and finances, healthcare access and continuity, and personal and emotional needs, was replicated.…”