The current body of literature lacks validated survey instruments to effectively measure financial distress in cancer patients, according to a systematic review.
“This review systematizes the methods and items that previous studies used for measuring the subjective financial distress of cancer patients,” wrote Julian Witte of Bielefeld (Germany) University and colleagues. Their report is in Annals of Oncology.
In this systematic review, the investigators searched major databases for studies that included data on perceived financial burden experienced by patients with cancer. The team collected and classified all usable validated survey tools, which are necessary to obtain high-quality data for analysis.
“We analyzed all detected instruments, items domains, and questions with regard to their wording, scales, and the domains of financial distress covered,” the researchers wrote.
After applying the search criteria, the investigators identified 40 studies that fit the inclusion criteria. Among those included, 352 unique questions have been used to describe financial distress in cancer patients.
After analysis, the researchers identified six distinct subdomains that characterized patient views and responses to financial distress. In particular, these domains were the use of passive financial resources, support seeking, coping with one’s lifestyle, coping with care, psychosocial responses, and active financial spending.
“We found an inconsistent coverage and use of these domains that makes it difficult to compare and quantify the prevalence of financial distress,” they wrote.
One key limitation of the study was the observational design, which could limit the generalizability of the findings.
“There is a need to join efforts to develop a common understanding of the concept of financial toxicity and related subjective financial distress,” they concluded.
The study was funded by IPSEN Pharma GmbH. The authors reported having no conflicts of interest.
SOURCE: Witte J et al. Ann Oncol. 2019 May 2. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdz140.