Validation of a measure of distress in adults with cystic fibrosis and Clinical Research Portfolio

Finlay, Caroline (2019) Validation of a measure of distress in adults with cystic fibrosis and Clinical Research Portfolio. D Clin Psy thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Background: Anxiety and depression are highly prevalent in adults with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and can lead to numerous negative outcomes including poorer physical health and health related quality of life, reduced treatment adherence and increased healthcare costs. Currently it is recommended that all adults with CF are screened for anxiety and depression on an annual basis. However, there are concerns that these current measures do not adequately detect the range of difficulties that individuals with CF experience. Consequently, the Distress in Cystic Fibrosis Scale (DCFS) was developed to support the detection of distress specifically in an adult CF population. This study was an initial exploration of the structural and psychometric properties of the DCFS in order to support its development as an appropriate screening measure of distress in an adult CF population.
Methods: 119 participants were recruited from the West of Scotland Adult Cystic Fibrosis Service (WoSACFS) through inpatient wards and out-patient clinics. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires assessing their mood, quality of life and current distress relating to CF. Psychometric properties of the DCFS were then evaluated with additional exploratory analyses evaluating the structure and practical use of the measure.
Results: The results indicated a 1-component model for the DCFS and provided support for it being an appropriate measure of CF distress, with positive findings relating to internal consistency and criterion validity. However, exploratory analyses highlighted that two response categories (N/A and 0) were used inconsistently by participants particularly for those items concerning physical health symptoms. It is possible that this was due to the wording of the rating scale and instructions.
Conclusions: The current study provides preliminary support for the DCFS being used as a measure of distress in an adult CF population. Potential improvements to the instructions and response scale were identified and subsequent recommendations made. Future studies should be conducted to further investigate the psychometric properties of the revised tool using a larger sample with a greater range of clinical and demographic characteristics.

• Item Type: Thesis (D Clin Psy)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Mental health, Cystic Fibrosis, distress.
• Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
• Colleges/Schools: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Supervisor's Name: Evans, Professor Jonathan
• Date of Award: 2019
• Depositing User: Dr Caroline Finlay
• Unique ID: glathesis:2019-75055
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 09 Oct 2019 08:35
• Last Modified: 29 Jun 2022 13:06
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.75055
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/75055