Purpose/Objectives: To develop a tool to identify patients with cancer who suffer from cachexia throughout all stages of the disease.
Design: Tool development study.
Setting: Oncology day care, follow-up clinics, radiotherapy, and hospice home care.
Sample: 90 patients with cancer (25 men and 65 women).
Methods: The Cachexia Assessment Scale (CAS) was created based on a thorough review of the literature and was tested for its psychometric properties.
Main Research Variables: Presence of cachexia.
Findings: Measures of reliability were determined by inter-rater, test-retest, and internal consistency reliability. Measures of validity were content validity, criterion validity, sensitivity, and specificity.
Conclusions: The CAS possesses adequate levels of reliability and validity and can be used to evaluate cachexia at all stages of cancer.
Implications for Nursing: The CAS can be used as an assessment tool for cachexia in various treatment settings.
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