title: Validation study of a web-based assessment of functional recovery after radical prostatectomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Good clinical care of prostate cancer patients after radical prostatectomy depends on careful assessment of post-operative morbidities, yet physicians do not always judge patient symptoms accurately. Logistical problems associated with using paper questionnaire limit their use in the clinic. We have implemented a web-interface ("STAR") for patient-reported outcomes after radical prostatectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed data on the first 9 months of clinical implementation to evaluate the validity of the STAR questionnaire to assess functional outcomes following radical prostatectomy. We assessed response rate, internal consistency within domains, and the association between survey responses and known predictors of sexual and urinary function, including age, time from surgery, nerve sparing status and co-morbidities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 1581 men sent an invitation to complete the instrument online, 1235 responded for a response rate of 78%. Cronbach's alpha was 0.84, 0.86 and 0.97 for bowel, urinary and sexual function respectively. All known predictors of sexual and urinary function were significantly associated with survey responses in the hypothesized direction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have found that web-based assessment of functional recovery after radical prostatectomy is practical and feasible. The instrument demonstrated excellent psychometric properties, suggested that validity is maintained when questions are transferred from paper to electronic format and when patients give responses that they know will be seen by their doctor and added to their clinic record. As such, our system allows ready implementation of patient-reported outcomes into routine clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Outcomes Group Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA. vickersa@mskcc.org
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Vickers
authors.forename: Caroline J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.forename: Marwan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shouery
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Eastham
authors.forename: Peter T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Scardino
authors.forename: Ethan M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Basch
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D011594:Psychometrics; D020127:Recovery of Function; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*