Translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the Danish version of the haematological malignancy patient-reported outcome measure (HM-PRO)

BACKGROUND: Assessment of cancer patients´ quality of life (QoL) through patient-reported outcomes (PRO) during and after treatment is gaining ground. The HM-PRO is the first generic Haematological Malignancy specific PRO measure for use in clinical practice and clinical trials. Such generic tools are needed in Denmark. The study aim was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the HM-PRO into Danish and evaluate the psychometric properties.

METHODS: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original English HM-PRO into Danish followed established guidelines. After cognitive debriefing interviews, it underwent psychometric testing with a variety of hematologic malignancies. Construct validity, internal consistency, dimensionality, item response theory (IRT) and differential item functioning were investigated.

RESULTS: 295 patients were included for psychometric evaluation; confirmatory factor and bifactor analyses for both HM-PRO parts provided good evidence to support the suggested factor structure (Cronbach's-α Part-A = 0.81, Part-B = 0.84; Part-A CFA CFI = 0.922, TLI = 0.912; bi-factor CFI = 0.989, TLI = 0.978). IRT showed good item-fit and factor loadings and absence of local dependency.

CONCLUSION: The HM-PRO has demonstrated favourable psychometric properties and can be used broadly within the Danish Healthcare system to monitor symptoms as well as QoL impact of patients with haematological cancer and optimize patient engagement during routine cancer care. WHAT IS THE NEW ASPECT OF YOUR WORK?: In response to the intention of the Danish Health Authority to systematically collect PRO data on health-related QoL in Danish cancer patients, this study investigates the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original English HM-PRO into Danish. WHAT IS THE CENTRAL FINDING OF YOUR WORK?: Few issues were met with the translation and adaptation of HM-PRO into Danish. WHAT IS (OR COULD BE) THE SPECIFIC CLINICAL RELEVANCE OF YOUR WORK?: The HM-PRO has demonstrated favourable psychometric properties and can be used broadly within the Danish Healthcare system to monitor symptoms as well as QoL impact of patients with haematological cancer and optimize patient engagement during routine cancer care.