Psychometric assessment of the Chinese version of the MASCC Antiemesis Tool (MAT) for measuring chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to assess the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the MASCC Antiemesis Tool (MAT) for measuring chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV).

Methods: This was a psychometric study using a panel of experts and a prospective observational design. Six experts were invited to identify the content validity and face validity of the MAT, and 115 cancer patients were then recruited from three provincial medical centers in Fuzhou, China. The MAT was self-completed by the patients on the first and the fifth day after receiving the most recent chemotherapy, and patients also rated daily the Index of Nausea, Vomiting, and Retching (INVR) during the first 5 days after chemotherapy. Content validity was measured by the index of the content validity (CVI). Construct validity was estimated by the contrasted groups approach. Concurrent validity was measured by exploring the correlations between the INVR and MAT scores. The reliability of the MAT was examined by Cronbach's alpha and item-to-total correlations.

Results: One hundred and eleven subjects returned the completed measures. High content validity was determined. Contrasted groups analysis clearly discriminated the differences on the CINV symptom experiences between different age and gender groups. Excellent concurrent validity was identified, with the Spearman's correlation coefficient between the MAT total score and the INVR overall total score of 0.94 (P < 0.001). Cronbach's alpha for the MAT was 0.73, and the item-to-total correlations ranged from 0.50 to 0.71.

Conclusions: The MAT Chinese version is a valid, reliable, and convenient instrument for measuring CINV in Chinese cancer patients.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Nausea; Psychometrics; Reliability; Scale; Validity; Vomiting.