Prevalence and correlates of the supportive care needs of Italian early-stage melanoma patients in follow-up.

Purpose: To describe the supportive care needs of early-stage Italian melanoma patients and identify the predictors of unmet needs. Design: Bicenter cross-sectional. Sample: Two hundred eight (TIS-T3) melanoma patients in follow-up. Methods: In person self-assessment procedures; the Supportive Care Needs Survey short-form 34, the Distress Thermometer and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used. Results: Of the patients surveyed, 56% experienced at least one or more moderate-to-high unmet needs. Lack of melanoma-specific information and psychological support aids were the most intense sources of need. Being aged 60-69 years, retired and distressed predicted unmet needs. Conclusions: This study's results demonstrate the need to implement supportive care needs screening among Italian early-stage melanoma patients during follow-up and to improve patient information and psychological support. Implications for psychosocial providers or policy: Providing patients with a point person within the hospital staff who centralizes the demand and refers to appropriate interventions may help the management of unmet needs.

Psychometric assessment of the Italian version of the melanoma module (SCNS-M12-Ita) of the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF34).

INTRODUCTION: This study examines the validity and the reliability of the translated-into-Italian version of the SCNS-SF34 melanoma module (SCNS-M12-Ita) for a sample of patients with melanoma (n = 268). METHODS: Content validity was analyzed by examining the redundancy of items. Floor/ceiling effects were investigated via frequency tables. Factor structure was studied through principal component analysis. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach α. Test-retest reliability was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Convergent-discriminant validity was studied by calculating Pearson correlations. Construct validity was investigated by comparing subgroups of patients through multivariate analysis of variance. RESULTS: Content validity of the SCNS-M12-Ita was satisfactory. The floor effect ranged from 24.3% to 82.5%. The 2-factor solution explained 61.4% of the total variance. Internal consistency was excellent for component 1 (α = 0.92) and questionable (α = 0.58) for component 2. Test-retest reliability was excellent for component 1 (ICC = 0.92) and poor for component 2 (ICC = 0.58). Except for component 2, item-total correlations were greater than 0.60. Construct validity was confirmed, as the expected correlations (r < 0.40) were observed and 60% of the postulated hypotheses about between-group differences were confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated that the SCNS-M12-Ita is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing the supportive care needs of patients with melanoma.