title: The development and testing of the well-being index for surgical patients (WISP).
abstract: The development and testing of the Well-being Index for Surgical Patients (WISP), an instrument designed to assess the well-being of patients between 1 and 4 months after abdominal surgery, is described. The measure was intended for use in a study of the effectiveness of a dietary supplement for patients undergoing such surgery. Interviews were conducted with 15 patients who had had abdominal operations between 1 and 4 months previously. They provided information about their well-being at the time of their interview and also during the period since they had been discharged from hospital. A draft questionnaire was derived from the interviews and field tested with a further 17 patients who found the content to be relevant and the questionnaire easy to complete. A further 44 patients completed the measure on three occasions; 1, 2 and 4 months after abdominal surgery. The instrument was shown to have good internal consistency and produced statistically significant improvements in well-being over time. A postal survey with 20 patients indicated that the instrument's test-retest reliability was adequate. The WISP is acceptable to patients and easy to administer, making it suitable for inclusion in clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Galen Research, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Doward
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Whalley
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*