Thomas, Shirley; Walsh, Declan; Aktas, Aynur
In this context, 'orphans' were defined as any symptom not assessed in any of the six selected instruments referenced; 'champions', in contrast, were present in all six. Of 46 checklist cancer symptoms, over a third were orphans. Only 5 checklist symptoms were champions: fatigue, pain, anorexia, dyspnoea and nausea. The bias appears to disproportionately affect gastrointestinal and neuropsychiatric symptoms. It's suggested that symptom studies should specifically report the limitations and account for the inherent item bias of any instrument used.
Fulltext available in Arthur Rank Hospice Library, Cambridge
Fulltext available in Arthur Rank Hospice Library, Cambridge