title: Comparison of face-to-face interview and telephone interview administration of COPD assessment test: a randomized study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the measurement properties of the COPD assessment test (CAT) in a randomized trial comparing a face-to-face interview (FFI) with a telephone interview (TI).
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized study was conducted at two teaching hospitals in Fortaleza, Brazil. Patients were randomly assigned to answer the CAT questionnaire either in a FFI or by TI. The two groups were assessed for internal consistency reliability, cross-sectional validity and test-retest reliability. All patients performed spirometry and answered the modified medical research council dyspnea scale and the St. George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total scores of the CAT questionnaire were similar for face-to-face and TI groups, 20.71 (95 % CI 18-23.4) versus 20.81 (95 % CI 19.31-21.7), respectively. For both mode of administration, we found good internal consistency reliability, the Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.74 (95 % CI 0.61-0.84) to 0.89 (95 % CI 0.84-0.93) for the TI and FFI, respectively. In general, moderate-to-high correlations of CAT with SGRQ were observed, independent of the administration format. For the test-retest reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficients were very similar for both FFI and TI group 0.96 (95 % CI 0.93-0.97) versus 0.98 (95 % CI 0.96-0.98), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that the CAT questionnaire administration either in a FFI or by TI presents moderate-to-high measurement properties. This provides support for the use of both modes of questionnaire administration.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Rua Barbara de Alencar 1401, Fortaleza, Ceará, 60140000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Guilherme F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Maria Tereza A
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Morano
authors.forename: Maria Penha U
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Sales
authors.forename: Natalia B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Olegário
authors.forename: Antonio George M
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Cavalcante
authors.forename: Eanes D B
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013147:Spirometry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013689:Telephone