Illness uncertainty in breast cancer patients: Validation of the 5-item short form of the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale

PurposeSeveral studies have shown that uncertainty about disease and fear of disease progression affects psychosocial adjustment and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to validate a Norwegian short version of the “The Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale” (SF-MUIS) and to examine the impact of uncertainty in illness in breast cancer patients.Method and sample209 patients in breast cancer treatment completed questionnaires for SF-MUIS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-ES), and eight questions concerning quality of the patient information provided (IQP). Relationship between scores on uncertainty in illness and anxiety, depression, social support, emotional well-being, the quality of patient information provided, and age were studied by multiple regression analyses.ResultsOrdinal coefficient alpha for the Norwegian version of SF-MUIS was 0.70. Scores on SF-MUIS correlated significantly with scores on HADS (P = 0.001), FACT-ES (P = 0.001), and IQP (P = 0.001) indicating good convergent validity. The patients reported a moderate degree of uncertainty in illness. However, those who had been diagnosed with breast cancer for a year, reported higher scores than those newly diagnosed (P = <0.0001). Information provided was the sole significant predictor of illness uncertainty (P = <0.0001).ConclusionThe results of the present study confirm that the Norwegian version of the SF-MUIS is a suitable tool for assessment of uncertainty in breast cancer patients, who reported a moderate degree of uncertainty in illness.