Validation of a questionnaire to assess self-reported colorectal cancer screening status using face-to-face administration.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-developed colorectal cancer screening questionnaire.


METHODS
We conducted 36 cognitive interviews and made iterative changes to the questionnaire to improve comprehension. The revised questionnaire was administered face-to-face to 201 participants. The primary outcome was agreement between questionnaire responses and medical records for whether or not a participant was up-to-date for any colorectal cancer screening test.


RESULTS
Comprehension of descriptions and questions was generally good; however, the barium enema description required several revisions. The sensitivity of the questionnaire for up-to-date screening status was 94%, specificity 63%, and concordance 88%.


CONCLUSIONS
The modified questionnaire was highly sensitive for determining if a person was up-to-date for any colorectal cancer screening test, although the specificity was low. Given the difficulty of obtaining all relevant records, self-report using this questionnaire is a reasonable option for identifying people who have undergone testing.
Fisher
Deborah A
DA
Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705, USA. fishe034@mc.duke.edu
Voils
Corrine I
CI
Coffman
Cynthia J
CJ
Grubber
Janet M
JM
Dudley
Tara K
TK
Vernon
Sally W
SW
Bond
John H
JH
Provenzale
Dawn
D
D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires