A validated self-administered female pelvic floor questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to validate a self-administered version of the already validated interviewer-administered Australian pelvic floor questionnaire.


METHODS
The questionnaire was completed by 163 women attending an urogynecological clinic. Face and convergent validity was assessed. Reliability testing and comparison with the interviewer-administered version was performed in a subset of 105 patients. Responsiveness was evaluated in a subset of 73 women.


RESULTS
Missing data did not exceed 4% for any question. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were acceptable in all domains. Kappa coefficients for the test-retest analyses varied from 0.64-1.0. Prolapse symptoms correlated significantly with the pelvic organ prolapse quantification. Urodynamics confirmed the reported symptom stress incontinence in 70%. The self and interviewer-administered questionnaires demonstrated equivalence. Effect sizes ranged from 0.6 to 1.4.


CONCLUSIONS
This self-administered pelvic floor questionnaire assessed pelvic floor function in a reproducible and valid fashion and due to its responsiveness, can be used for routine clinical assessment and outcome research.
Baessler
Kaven
K
Department of Gynaecology, Pelvic Floor Centre Charité, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12200, Berlin, Germany. kaven.baessler@charite.de
O'Neill
Sheila M
SM
Maher
Christopher F
CF
Battistutta
Diana
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000503:physiopathology*; D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000175:diagnosis; D055815:Young Adult