Measuring bothersome menopausal symptoms: development and validation of the MenoScores questionnaire.
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SUBMITTER: Lund KS
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5956969 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundLittle is known about factors associated with a clinically relevant reduction in menopausal symptoms through a brief acupuncture approach for women with moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms.MethodsPost hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial where participants were allocated to early versus late standardized acupuncture. Both the early group and the late group are included in this study. The late group got an identical intervention parallel staged by 6?weeks. By means of the relative importance, the effect was evaluated for both early versus late women with a 6-week follow-up. We included four symptom subscales from the validated MenoScores Questionnaire: hot flushes, day and night sweats, general sweating, menopausal-specific sleeping problems, as well as an overall score, which is the sum of the four outcomes in the analysis.Results67 women with moderate to severe menopausal symptoms were included of whom 52 (77.6%) experienced a clinically relevant reduction in any of the four surveyed symptom subscales or overall score. 48 (71.6%) women experienced a clinically relevant reduction in any of the vasomotor symptom subscales: hot flushes, day and night sweats, general sweating. Women with vocational education were most likely to experience improvement compared to women with higher education. Beyond education, other factors of some importance for a clinically relevant reduction were no alcohol consumption, two or more births and urinary incontinence.ConclusionsLevel of education was the most consistent factor associated with improvement. Beyond education, other factors of some importance were no alcohol consumption, two or more births and urinary incontinence.Trial registrationThis study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov at April 21, 2016. The registration number is NCT02746497 .
| S-EPMC7805030 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundImproving the coordination of cancer care is a priority area for service improvement. However, quality improvement initiatives are hindered by the lack of accurate and reliable measures of this aspect of cancer care. This study was conducted to develop a questionnaire to measures patients' experience of cancer care coordination and to assess the psychometric properties of this instrument.MethodsQuestionnaire items were developed on the basis of literature review and qualitative research involving focus groups and interviews with cancer patients, carers and clinicians. The draft instrument was completed 686 patients who had been recently treated for a newly diagnosed cancer, including patients from metropolitan, regional and rural areas of New South Wales, Australia. To assess test-retest reliability, 119 patients completed the questionnaire twice. Unreliable items those with limited variability or high levels of missing data were eliminated. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to define the underlying factor structure of the remaining items and subscales were constructed. Correlations between these and global measures of the experience of care coordination and the quality of care were assessed.ResultsOf 40 items included in the draft questionnaire, 20 were eliminated due to poor test-retest reliability (n = 4), limited response distributions (n = 8), failure to load onto a factor (n = 7) or detrimental effect on the internal consistency of the scale (n = 1). The remaining 20 items loaded onto two factors named 'Communication' and 'Navigation', which explained 91% of the common variance. Internal consistency was with high for the instrument (Cronbach's alpha 0.88) and each subscale (Cronbach's alpha 0.87 and 0.73 respectively). There was no apparent 'floor' or 'ceiling' effect for the total score or the Communication subscale, but evidence of a ceiling effect for the Navigation subscale with 21% of respondents achieving the highest possible score. There were moderate positive associations between the total score and global measures of care coordination (r = 0.57) and quality of care (r = 0.53).ConclusionsThe instrument developed in this study demonstrated consistency and robust psychometric properties. It may provide a useful tool to measure patients' experience of cancer care coordination in future surveys and intervention studies.
| S-EPMC3151230 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Introduction"Dizziness" is a common complaint in clinical practice that can occur with anyone. However, since the symptom is caused by a wide range of disorders, a general clinician usually faces some difficulty to detect the cause.ObjectiveThis study aimed to formulate and validate a simple instrument that can be used to screen and predict the most likely cause of dizziness in Thai outpatients.MethodsThis study was divided into two phases. Phase I included 41 patients diagnosed with common causes of dizziness to determine the algorithm and construct the "structural algorithm questionnaire version 1". In addition, to test and retest its content validity and reliability until the instrument had an acceptable level of both. Phase II of the study pertained to evaluating its accuracy in clinical trials, 150 patients with dizziness had a face-to-face interview while they were waiting for their medical appointment.ResultsThe degree of agreement between the algorithm results and clinical diagnoses was within an acceptable level (κ = 0.69). Therefore, this algorithm was used to construct the structural algorithm questionnaire version 1. The content validity of the structural algorithm questionnaire version 1 evaluated by seven experts. The content validity index values of the questionnaire ranged from 0.71 to 1.0. The Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ) of intra-rater reliability of the structural algorithm questionnaire version 1 was 0.71. In clinical trials, 150 patients with dizziness had a face-to-face interview while they were waiting for their appointment. The overall agreement between their questionnaire responses and final diagnoses by specialists showed a moderate degree of clinical accuracy (κ = 0.55).ConclusionsThe structural algorithm questionnaire version 1 had a well-developed design and acceptable quality pertaining to both validity and reliability. It might be used to differentiate the cause of dizziness between vestibular and non-vestibular disorders, especially of outpatients with dizziness symptoms.
| S-EPMC9483993 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Internet search has become the most common way that people deal with issues and problems in everyday life. The wide use of Internet search has largely changed the way people search for and store information. There is a growing interest in the impact of Internet search on users' affect, cognition, and behavior. Thus, it is essential to develop a tool to measure the changes in psychological characteristics as a result of long-term use of Internet search. The aim of this study is to develop a Questionnaire on Internet Search Dependence (QISD) and test its reliability and validity. We first proposed a preliminary structure and items of the QISD based on literature review, supplemental investigations, and interviews. And then, we assessed the psychometric properties and explored the factor structure of the initial version via exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The EFA results indicated that four dimensions of the QISD were very reliable, i.e., habitual use of Internet search, withdrawal reaction, Internet search trust, and external storage under Internet search. Finally, we tested the factor solution obtained from EFA through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of CFA confirmed that the four dimensions model fits the data well. In all, this study suggests that the 12-item QISD is of high reliability and validity and can serve as a preliminary tool to measure the features of Internet search dependence.
| S-EPMC5167696 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundVery little data are available on the natural course or level of disturbance of vasomotor symptoms among middle-aged women. Using readily collected trial data we studied the persistence of vasomotor symptoms among untreated women.MethodsIn a trial comparing combined hormone therapy to placebo or no treatment (control groups), a cohort of women aged 50-59 at recruitment were followed annually by questionnaires. Women in the control groups (n = 486) were grouped by the number of years followed, with the prevalence and severity of symptoms calculated both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.ResultsAbout two thirds of the women (67%) reported vasomotor symptoms and half (46%) bothersome symptoms at recruitment. In the cross-sectional analysis, their prevalence declined between recruitment and 1-year follow-up (32% bothersome symptoms) and 2-year follow-up (27%). Thereafter it remained about the same level. In the longitudinal analysis, there was a notable variation in the prevalence of disturbing vasomotor symptoms over time, time entering the study and the compliance to the surveys. In the two groups having most follow-up times, the proportion of women with bothersome symptoms first increased and then decreased.ConclusionsThere was a notable variability in the development of disturbing vasomotor symptoms over time in a selected group of women aged 50-59. Population-based follow-up studies of untreated women would be useful to estimate the symptom burden.
| S-EPMC3542280 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and objectiveChronic insomnia has major consequences for daytime functioning, yet no fully validated patient-reported outcome instrument for once-daily assessments is available to measure these consequences. This study describes the development and psychometric evaluation of the Insomnia Daytime Symptoms and Impacts Questionnaire (IDSIQ).MethodsThe Daytime Insomnia Symptom Scale (DISS), an existing 20-item instrument for assessing daytime functioning, was modified to give an 18-item version of the IDSIQ (IDSIQ-18) based on iterative qualitative interviews with 54 subjects with insomnia and expert input. The construct validity and other psychometric properties of the IDSIQ-18 were analyzed based on an interventional study (NCT03056053) in which subjects with insomnia received zolpidem (5 or 10 mg) daily for 2 weeks and an observational study among subjects with no diagnosis of insomnia (good sleepers). Participants in both studies completed the IDSIQ-18 daily for 2 weeks. Exit interviews were conducted with a sample of subjects who completed the interventional study to elicit concepts defining the experience of insomnia, to assess understanding of the response scales, and to determine meaningful change thresholds. Exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis were conducted to further assess the structure and latent model for the scoring of the final IDSIQ instrument. Further psychometric evaluation of the final IDSIQ was then conducted.ResultsSubjects in both the interventional study (N = 114) and observational study (N = 103) were predominantly female (65% for subjects with insomnia and 60% for good sleepers). Mean age was 51 years for subjects with insomnia and 45 years for good sleepers. Subjects in the exit interviews (N = 41) demonstrated a good understanding of the IDSIQ-18 response scales. Day 1 mean scores were higher (worse) in subjects with insomnia compared with good sleepers. Based on inter-item correlation, exploratory factor, and Rasch analyses and review of the qualitative data, four items were removed. This yielded the final IDSIQ, with 14 items comprising three domains: Alert/Cognition, Mood, and Sleepiness. The domain structure was determined in a confirmatory factor analysis. Evidence of internal consistency reliability was strong: day 1 Cronbach's alpha was 0.917 for IDSIQ total score and 0.806-0.918 for the domains. Test-retest reliability, assessed for subjects with insomnia with no change on the Patient Global Assessment of Disease Severity scale between day 1 and day 8, was also good (intra-class correlation coefficient 0.856-0.911). Meaningful change thresholds derived for this sample using anchor-based approaches were 20 for IDSIQ total score, 9 for the Alert/Cognition domain, 4 for the Mood domain, and 4 for the Sleepiness domain.ConclusionsThese studies, which closely followed Food and Drug Administration Guidance for Industry on patient-reported outcome measures, support use of the IDSIQ as a fit-for-purpose measure for deriving valid and reliable endpoints in insomnia clinical research trials and real-world studies.
| S-EPMC7884372 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In higher education, student ratings are often used to evaluate and improve the quality of courses and professors' instructional skills. Unfortunately, student-rating questionnaires rarely generate specific feedback for professors to improve their instructional skills. The impact of student ratings on professors' instructional skills has proven to be low. This study concerns the psychometric properties of the Instructional Skills Questionnaire (ISQ), a new theory-based student-rating-of-teaching questionnaire with specific questions concerning lecturing skills. The ISQ is administered after a single lecture. This way, it serves as a formative feedback instrument for university professors during courses to assist them to improve and (re-) evaluate their skills if necessary. The ISQ contains seven dimensions of professors' instructional skills and three student (self perceived) learning outcomes. In this study, Dutch students in 75 courses rated three 90-minute lectures (T1, T2 and T3) of their respective professors using the ISQ. In total, 14,298 ISQ-forms were used to rate 225 lectures. The teacher level reliabilities of the seven dimensions were found to be good at each measurement occasion. In addition, confirmatory multilevel factor analysis confirmed a seven dimensional factor structure at the teacher level at each measurement occasion. Furthermore, specific teacher level factors significantly predicted students' (self-assessed) learning outcomes. These results partly supported the proposed theoretical framework on the relationship between the ISQ teaching dimensions and the student learning process, and provided evidence for the construct validity of the instrument. In sum, the ISQ is found to be a reliable and valid instrument, which can be used by professors and faculty development centers to assess and improve university teaching.
| S-EPMC4769345 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundWeb-based health behavior change interventions may be more effective if they offer autonomy-supportive communication facilitating the internalization of motivation for health behavior change. Yet, at this moment no validated tools exist to assess user-perceived autonomy-support of such interventions.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to develop and validate the virtual climate care questionnaire (VCCQ), a measure of perceived autonomy-support in a virtual care setting.MethodsItems were developed based on existing questionnaires and expert consultation and were pretested among experts and target populations. The virtual climate care questionnaire was administered in relation to Web-based interventions aimed at reducing consumption of alcohol (Study 1; N=230) or cannabis (Study 2; N=228). Item properties, structural validity, and reliability were examined with item-response and classical test theory methods, and convergent and divergent validity via correlations with relevant concepts.ResultsIn Study 1, 20 of 23 items formed a one-dimensional scale (alpha=.97; omega=.97; H=.66; mean 4.9 [SD 1.0]; range 1-7) that met the assumptions of monotonicity and invariant item ordering. In Study 2, 16 items fitted these criteria (alpha=.92; H=.45; omega=.93; mean 4.2 [SD 1.1]; range 1-7). Only 15 items remained in the questionnaire in both studies, thus we proceeded to the analyses of the questionnaire's reliability and construct validity with a 15-item version of the virtual climate care questionnaire. Convergent validity of the resulting 15-item virtual climate care questionnaire was confirmed by positive associations with autonomous motivation (Study 1: r=.66, P<.001; Study 2: r=.37, P<.001) and perceived competence for reducing alcohol intake (Study 1: r=.52, P<.001). Divergent validity could only be confirmed by the nonsignificant association with perceived competence for learning (Study 2: r=.05, P=.48).ConclusionsThe virtual climate care questionnaire accurately assessed participants' perceived autonomy-support offered by two Web-based health behavior change interventions. Overall, the scale showed the expected properties and relationships with relevant concepts, and the studies presented suggest this first version of the virtual climate care questionnaire to be reasonably valid and reliable. As a result, the current version may cautiously be used in future research and practice to measure perceived support for autonomy within a virtual care climate. Future research efforts are required that focus on further investigating the virtual climate care questionnaire's divergent validity, on determining the virtual climate care questionnaire's validity and reliability when used in the context of Web-based interventions aimed at improving nonaddictive or other health behaviors, and on developing and validating a short form virtual climate care questionnaire.
| S-EPMC5705912 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy of a standardised brief acupuncture approach for women with moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms.DesignRandomised and controlled, with 1:1 allocation to the intervention group or the control group. The assessor and the statistician were blinded.SettingNine Danish primary care practices.Participants70 women with moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms and nine general practitioners with accredited education in acupuncture.InterventionThe acupuncture style was western medical with a standardised approach in the predefined acupuncture points CV-3, CV-4, LR-8, SP-6 and SP-9. The intervention group received one treatment for five consecutive weeks. The control group was offered treatment after 6 weeks.Main outcome measuresOutcomes were the differences between the randomisation groups in changes to mean scores using the scales in the MenoScores Questionnaire, measured from baseline to week 6. The primary outcome was the hot flushes scale; the secondary outcomes were the other scales in the questionnaire. All analyses were based on intention-to-treat analysis.Results36 participants received the intervention, and 34 participants were in the control group. Four participants dropped out before week 6. The acupuncture intervention significantly decreased hot flushes: Δ -1.6 (95% CI [-2.3 to -0.8]; p<0.0001), day-and-night sweats: Δ -1.2 (95% CI [-2.0 to -0.4]; p=0.0056), general sweating: Δ -0.9(95% CI [-1.6 to -0.2]; p=0.0086), menopausal-specific sleeping problems: Δ -1.8 (95% CI [-2.7 to -1.0]; p<0.0001), emotional symptoms: Δ -3.4 (95% CI [-5.3 to -1.4]; p=0.0008), physical symptoms: Δ -1.7 (95% CI [-3 to -0.4]; p=0.010) and skin and hair symptoms: Δ -1.5 (95% CI [-2.5 to -0.6]; p=0.0021) compared with the control group at the 6-week follow-up. The pattern of decrease in hot flushes, emotional symptoms, skin and hair symptoms was already apparent 3 weeks into the study. Mild potential adverse effects were reported by four participants, but no severe adverse effects were reported.ConclusionsThe standardised and brief acupuncture treatment produced a fast and clinically relevant reduction in moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms during the six-week intervention. No severe adverse effects were reported.Trial registration numberNCT02746497; Results.
| S-EPMC6501989 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PURPOSE:The association between menopause and overactive bladder is controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between menopausal symptoms and overactive bladder, and identify the risk factors for overactive bladder. METHODS:A cross-sectional study was performed. The study included 403 women aged 36-76 years who visited the menopause clinic at Peking University First Hospital between September 2012 and December 2013. The overactive bladder symptom score and modified Kupperman index questionnaires were used. Differences were assessed using descriptive statistics to determine any association between the overactive bladder symptom score and modified Kupperman index score, and to evaluate the risk factors for overactive bladder. RESULTS:A total of 304 women were finally enrolled. The prevalence of overactive bladder was 9.43%, and the modified Kupperman index score; number of sexual problems; and frequency of urinary tract infections, vertigo, melancholia, and mood swings were significantly higher in patients with overactive bladder than in the patients without overactive bladder (p < 0.05). Menopausal symptoms (modified Kupperman index score ? 15) (odds ratio: 1.049, 95% confidence interval: 1.006-1.095, p = 0.025) and a low frequency of sexual intercourse in the last 6 months (odds ratio: 2.580, 95% confidence interval: 1.228-5.422, p = 0.012) were identified as independent risk factors for overactive bladder. The frequency of sexual intercourse was found to decrease with an increase in the severity of overactive bladder (p = 0.004, linear-by-linear association = 0.001). CONCLUSION:Menopausal symptoms may be closely associated with overactive bladder, and sexual activity may be associated with the severity of overactive bladder. Moreover, sexual problems, urinary tract infections, vertigo, melancholia, and mood swings may be associated with overactive bladder.
| S-EPMC4598107 | biostudies-literature