Dataset Information

Development and Validation of a Single-Item Screener for Self-Reporting Sexual Problems in U.S. Adults.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Brief self-assessment of sexual problems in a clinical context has the potential to improve care for patients through the ability to track trends in sexual problems over time and facilitate patient-provider communication about this important topic. However, instruments designed for research are typically too long to be practical in clinical practice.

Objective

To develop and validate a single-item self-report clinical screener that would capture common sexual problems and concerns for men and women.

Design

We created three candidate screener items, refined them through cognitive interviews, and administered them to a large sample. We compared the prevalence of responses to each item and explored the discrepancies between items. We evaluated the construct validity of the items by comparing them to scores on the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® Sexual Function and Satisfaction (PROMIS® SexFS) measure.

Participants

Local patients participated in two rounds of cognitive interviews (n?=?7 and n?=?11). A probability-based random sample of U.S. adults comprised the item-testing sample (n?=?3517).

Main measures

The items were as follows: 1) a yes/no item on any sexual problems or concerns ("general screener"), 2) a yes/no item on problems experienced for 3 months or more during the past 12 months, with a list of examples ("long list screener"), and 3) an item identical to the long list screener except that examples appeared individually as response options and respondents could check all that applied ("checklist screener").

Key results

All of the screeners tested showed evidence for basic validity and had minimal missing data. Percentages of women and men endorsing the screeners were 10 % and 15 % (general); 20 % and 17 % (long list); and 38 % and 30 % (checklist), respectively. Participants who endorsed the screeners had lower function compared to those who did not endorse them.

Conclusions

We recommend the checklist screener for its specificity and ability to identify specific problems associated with decreased sexual function.

SUBMITTER: Flynn KE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4579234 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Development and Validation of a Single-Item Screener for Self-Reporting Sexual Problems in U.S. Adults.

Flynn Kathryn E KE Lindau Stacy Tessler ST Lin Li L Reese Jennifer Barsky JB Jeffery Diana D DD Carter Jeanne J Baron Shirley R SR Abramsohn Emily E Weinfurt Kevin P KP

Journal of general internal medicine 20150418 10

<h4>Background</h4>Brief self-assessment of sexual problems in a clinical context has the potential to improve care for patients through the ability to track trends in sexual problems over time and facilitate patient-provider communication about this important topic. However, instruments designed for research are typically too long to be practical in clinical practice.<h4>Objective</h4>To develop and validate a single-item self-report clinical screener that would capture common sexual problems a ...[more]

PMID: 25893421

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Brief screening instruments focusing on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that can be administered in primary care are scarce; there is a need for shorter and more precise instruments. The Autism-Tics, AD/HD and other Comorbidities inventory (A-TAC) has previously been validated for ASD reporting excellent validity. This study aims to determine the psychometric properties of each item in the ASD domain (17 items) in the A-TAC using item response theory (IRT), and thereby construct and validate a short form that could be used as a screening instrument in the general population. METHODS:Since 2004, parents of all 9-year-old Swedish twins have been invited to participate in a telephone interview in the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS). The CATSS is linked to the National Patient Register (NPR), which includes data from in- and outpatient care. Data on ASD (A-TAC) collected in CATSS were compared with diagnoses from the NPR. Diagnoses that had been made both before (previous validity) and after (predictive validity) the interviews were included. The sample was divided into a developmental sample and a validation sample. An IRT model was fitted to the developmental sample and item parameters were used to select a subset of items for the short form. The performance of the proposed short form was examined in the validation sample by the use of receiver operation characteristic curves. RESULTS:Four items which were able to discriminate among individuals with more autism traits were deemed sufficient for use in the short form. The values of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for a clinical diagnosis of ASD was .95 (previous validity) and .72 (predictive validity). CONCLUSIONS:The proposed short form with 4 out of the original 17 items from A-TAC, showed excellent previous validity while the predictive validity was fair. The validity of the short form was in agreement with previous validations of the full ASD domain. The short form can be a valuable screening instrument in primary care settings in order to identify individuals in need for further assessment and for use in epidemiological studies.

Dataset Information

Development and Validation of a Single-Item Screener for Self-Reporting Sexual Problems in U.S. Adults.

Background

Objective

Design

Participants

Main measures

Key results

Conclusions

Publications

Development and Validation of a Single-Item Screener for Self-Reporting Sexual Problems in U.S. Adults.

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