Development of a questionnaire to measure patient-reported postoperative recovery: content validity and intra-patient reliability.
OBJECTIVE
In this study we describe the development of a short, easy-to-use questionnaire to measure postoperative recovery and evaluate its content validity and intra-patient reliability. The questionnaire is designed to evaluate the progress of postoperative recovery and the long-term follow-up of possible effects of interventions during recovery.


METHODS
The study involved four steps. (1) A conceptualization and item definitions were based on a theoretical framework and a description of patients' postoperative recovery from the perspective of patients, registered nurses and surgeons; (2) Content validity of items was tested through expert judgements; (3) A test run of the questionnaire was performed to confirm its feasibility and workload requirement; and (4) The stability of the questionnaire was evaluated through intra-patient reliability assessment.


RESULTS
As a result of the operationalization process of the concept postoperative recovery, five dimensions (physical symptoms, physical functions, psychological, social, activity) and 19 items were identified. Each item was formulated as a statement in the questionnaire. Content validity was judged to be high. After the pre-test of the questionnaire a revision with refinements in the layout was made. The vast majority of items showed a high level of intra-patient reliability.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on a theoretical framework and empirical data, we developed a short and easy-to-use tentative questionnaire to measure patient-reported postoperative recovery. Initial support for content validity was established. The vast majority of items showed a high level of test-retest reliability.
Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden. rene.allvin@orebroll.se
Renée
R
Allvin
Margareta
M
Ehnfors
Narinder
N
Rawal
Elisabeth
E
Svensson
Ewa
E
Idvall
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010358:Patient Participation; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000592:standards; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult