Purpose/objectives: To describe the development, testing, and utility of the Breast Cancer Treatment Response Inventory (BCTRI), an instrument that captures the symptom experience of women with breast cancer.
Data sources: Journal articles and results of research studies used to establish BCTRI psychometric properties.
Data synthesis: The tool is a valid and reliable method to determine and monitor numbers of symptoms, the severity of those symptoms, and the amount of distress experienced by patients. It is an easily and quickly employed assessment tool to guide and evaluate interventions.
Conclusions: The BCTRI has strong psychometric properties and is a valid and reliable instrument to measure symptom experience among populations of breast cancer survivors.
Implications for nursing: Data collected using the BCTRI provide information that healthcare providers can use to target interventions toward symptoms that are most troublesome or distressful. The BCTRI can be used at meaningful points in treatment, recovery, and ongoing survivorship to explore the emerging concept of symptom experience in samples that reflect socioeconomically and ethnically diverse populations.