The revised version of the Physicians' Reactions to Uncertainty scales comprised four scales, namely 'anxiety due to uncertainty' (items 1 5), 'concern about bad outcomes' (items 6 8), 'reluctance to disclose uncertainty to patients' (items 9 13) and 'reluctance to disclose mistakes to physicians' (items 14 15) [ 10].
A method for choosing key uncertainties is to display the uncertainty items on two axes, one determining the level of (un certainty and the other representing the level of impact [ 11, 15]. Figure 1 shows that the items which are seen as highest on the uncertainty and impact scales represent the key uncertainties that form the basis for scenario analysis.
We hypothesised that domains in the HDQ characterised six dimensions of disability, each represented by HDQ items: physical symptoms and impairments (20 items); cognitive symptoms and impairments (3 items); mental and emotional health symptoms and impairments (11 items); uncertainty (14 items); difficulties with day-to-day activities (9 items) and challenges to social inclusion (12 items).
Table 1 Key mathematical concepts Quantity Change and relations Space and shape Uncertainty 18 items 14 items 6 items 1 item.
The QLQ-BN20 questionnaire contains 20 items organized into four scales; future uncertainty (3 items), visual disorder (3 items); motor dysfunction (3 items); and communication deficit (3 items), and seven single items (headaches, seizures, drowsiness, hair loss, itchy skin, weakness of legs, and bladder control) [ 9, 10].
For example, the 10 question-items of the baseline Decisional Conflict Scale assess patients' perceived levels of: uncertainty (2 items), feeling informed (3 items), clarity about the personal value of the risks/benefits/side effects (2 items), and feeling supported in decision making (3 items) [ 47].
One expert stated that there was some "uncertainty" around item 1.
The BN20 questionnaire is a brain-specific module to be used in conjunction with the generic EORTC questionnaires and contains 20 items grouped into four domains (future uncertainty – four items, visual disorder, motor dysfunction and communication deficit – each three items) as well as seven single items (headaches, seizures, drowsiness, hair loss, itchy skin, weakness of legs, bladder control).
The PRU scale 14 consists of four subscales: anxiety due to uncertainty (5 items); concern about bad outcomes (3 items); reluctance to disclose mistakes to physicians (2 items); and reluctance to disclose uncertainty to patients (5 items).
The subscale 'factors contributing to uncertainty' (nine items, e.g. 'I need more advice and information about the treatment alternatives') measures the extent to which certain factors contribute to decision uncertainty, such as lack of information, unclear values and emotional distress.
