# Patient Concerns Inventory for Arabic Patients with Head and Neck Cancer: A Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Preliminary Validation

## TL;DR

This paper adapts and validates a patient concern inventory for head and neck cancer patients in Arabic, aiming to better understand their unique needs and experiences.

## Contribution

The study provides a cross-culturally adapted and preliminary validated Arabic version of the Patient Concerns Inventory for head and neck cancer.

## Key findings

- The Arabic PCI-HN showed good internal consistency (α = 0.723) but fair test–retest agreement (κ = 0.22).
- Cultural adaptations were made to items related to social and religious welfare in the Arabic version.
- The instrument is recommended for further validation in larger, multi-center studies.

## Abstract

Individuals with head and neck cancer usually experience many concerns related to their diagnosis and care needs. Examples could include the treatment of undesired effects on physical, psychological and social aspects. There is no available instrument to investigate the problems associated with this condition for Arabic patients. The present study translated a commonly used patient concern inventory tailored to this condition and its treatment. It tested its precision and accuracy to measure individual preferences and needs. There were varying cultural views on topics such as social and religious issues between the original English and its Arabic translation. Recommendations were presented for further testing with large patient populations and multiple hospitals across the Arabic countries.

Introduction: Head and neck cancer (HNC) treatments often lead to significant post-treatment side effects that affect patients’ quality of life. This study aimed to translate and validate the post-treatment Patient Concerns Inventory for head and neck (PCI-HN) into Arabic among HNC survivors. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design, where PCI-HN was translated and assessed for content and face validity by clinical experts and patients, respectively. Revisions to multiple items related to ‘social and religious welfare’. Patients’ responses were then analysed to assess internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) and test–retest reliability (Cohen’s Kappa). Results: Thirty-eight participants (19 males, 19 females, mean age 50.68 ± 16.13 years) were included. The Arabic PCI-HN demonstrated good overall internal consistency (α = 0.723) but fair test–retest agreement (κ = 0.22), likely reflecting dynamic changes in HNC post-treatment experiences. Conclusion: The Ar-PCI-HN can be a helpful instrument for capturing distinct aspects of the survivorship experience among Arabic-speaking HNC survivors. Determining the clinical interpretability and ability to detect changes over time requires further multi-centre and multi-country clinical studies. This would be necessary to ensure its integration into routine outpatient consultations for Arabic-speaking patients in Arab countries and globally.