Translation and linguistic validation of the Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral for Care (SPARC) to Colombian Spanish

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to translate and linguistically and cross-culturally validate Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral for Care (SPARC) in Spanish for Colombia (SPARC-Sp).

METHODS

The linguistic validation of SPARC followed a standard methodology. We conducted focus groups to assess the comprehensibility and feasibility. The acceptability was assessed using a survey study with potential users.

RESULTS

The comprehensibility assessment showed that additional adjustments to those made during the translation-back-translation process were required to apply SPARC-Sp in rural and low-schooled populations. It also identified the need for alternative administration mechanisms for illiterate people. The acceptability survey showed that potential users found SPARC-Sp as not only acceptable but also highly desirable. However, they desired to expand the number of items in all domains.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

Beyond the semantic and conceptual validity attained through the back-translation process, actual cultural validity could be acquired thanks to the comprehensibility tests. Although extending the instrument is something potential users would like to do, it would make it less feasible to utilize the SPARC-Sp in clinical settings. Nonetheless, the instrument might benefit from the inclusion of a domain that evaluates challenges encountered when accessing the health-care system. For communities lacking literacy, alternate administration methods must also be considered.

Specialist Palliative Care for Patients with Cancer: More Than End-of-Life Care

Palliative care has traditionally focused on end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer. This has since expanded to include symptom management and quality-of-life improvement from the moment of cancer diagnosis. Specialist palliative care teams work across community and inpatient settings and focus on dealing with complex problems whilst supporting healthcare colleagues in providing generalist palliative care. This article will outline the principles of palliative care, models of palliative care delivery, the distinctions between palliative care and supportive care, and the role of specialist palliative care in cancer survivorship.

Global Perspectives on Palliative Care for Cancer Patients: Not All Countries Are the Same

Abstract

Purpose of the Review

The integration of cancer-related palliative care is essential to holistic, quality cancer care. While some similarities exist between countries, this manuscript will focus on five differences that impact palliative care for cancer patients including the epidemiology of cancer and related symptoms, cancer-specific integration into care, palliative care education, economic development of the country, and cultural and religious differences.

Recent Findings

The epidemiology of cancer varies around the world resulting in variable symptoms and the need for individualized approaches to palliative care. While palliative care is integrated in some countries, it is lacking in over half of the world, and specific integration into cancer care is virtually absent. Education and training are the key to expansion, and yet oncology-focused palliative care education is lacking or is not well-reported in the literature. To complicate this global lens even further are the economic disparities that exist. Low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs) are resource poor and have the fewest resources and least amount of integration, and yet patients with advanced cancer are over-represented in these countries. Essential to cancer-related palliative care is a tailored approach that addresses cultural and religious differences around the globe.

Summary

Palliative care is developing around the globe and yet palliative care specific for cancer patients is in its infancy. Cancer care professionals should (1) understand the epidemiologic differences that exist globally and the impact this has on palliative care, (2) integrate palliative care into the cancer care arena, (3) provide cancer-specific palliative education focused on the cancer trajectory from diagnosis through survivorship and end of life, (4) advocate for LMICs, which suffer from a lack of resources and services, and (5) understand cultural and religious differences that exist to provide holistic and sensitive cancer-related palliative care.

Resource-Stratified Guideline-Based Cancer Care Should Be a Priority: Historical Context and Examples of Success

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are shouldering most of the burden of the rapidly increasing cancer incidence and mortality worldwide, and this situation is projected to worsen in coming decades. Studies estimate that more than one million deaths could be prevented annually if all patients received high-quality care, but most LMICs lack the resources and infrastructure to adopt U.S. or European clinical oncology practice guidelines. Several organizations have developed resource-stratified guidelines (RSGs) to provide graduated and/or region-specific strategies for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The birth of these efforts traces to 2002, when the World Health Organization (WHO) called for tailoring cancer treatments to the level of available resources by country; the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) formalized the first stratified guidelines for breast cancer shortly thereafter. Since then, multiple organizations including ASCO and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) have created guidelines customized for various cancer subtypes and regions. These RSGs offer roadmaps for policy makers, clinicians, and health care administrators in LMICs to design projects in implementation science that can gradually and strategically raise the quality of cancer care in their nation or region. Although the same resource limitations that complicate cancer care in these areas also pose barriers to data gathering and research, some countries have met the challenge and are improving cancer care using RSGs as a metric for success.