Validation of a symptom measure suitable for use among palliative care patients in the community: CAMPAS-R

The purpose of the study was to investigate psychometric properties of CAMPAS-R, an instrument for prospectively monitoring patients' symptoms and needs during palliative care at home. CAMPAS-R was piloted for face and content validity and then administered alongside criterion measures to a home care sample. Cronbach's alpha was used to test internal consistency and criterion-related validity was tested by non-parametric correlation with Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and EORTC QLQ-C30. Predictive validity was assessed by relating CAMPAS-R scores to survival. One hundred and nine patients were recruited to the study. Good reliability and high correlations between CAMPAS-R and criterion measures were found. Predictive validity was demonstrated by significant differences in symptom scores between groups differing in length of survival. CAMPAS-R is acceptable to patients, families and primary care professionals and is a valid, reliable instrument, which has the benefit of being easy to score.