title: Validation of a self-reported HIV symptoms list: the ISS-HIV symptoms scale.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To describe the development and the psychometric properties of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità-HIV symptoms scale (lSS-HIV symptoms scale).
  
  
  METHODS
  The ISS-HIV symptom scale was developed by an Italian working team including researchers, physicians and people living with HIV. The development process went through the following steps: (1) review of HIV/AIDS literature; (2) focus group; (3) pre-test analysis; (4) scale validation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 22 symptoms of HIV-ISS symptoms scale were clustered in five factors: pain/general discomfort (7 items); depression/anxiety (4 items); emotional reaction/psychological distress (5 items); gastrointestinal discomfort (4 items); sexual discomfort (2 items). The internal consistence reliability was for all factors within the minimum accepted standard of 0.70.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study provide a preliminary evidence of the reliability and validity of the ISS-HIV symptoms scale. In the new era where HIV infection has been transformed into a chronic diseases and patients are experiencing a complex range of symptoms, the ISS-HIV symptoms scale may represent an useful tool for a comprehensive symptom assessment with the advantage of being easy to fill out by patients and potentially attractive to physicians mainly because it is easy to understand and requires short time to interpret the results.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bucciardini
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Katherina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pugliese
authors.affiliation: Ospedale S. Maria della Misericordia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Francisci
authors.affiliation: Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Costantini
authors.affiliation: Ospedale S. Maria della Misericordia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schiaroli
authors.affiliation: Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cognigni
authors.affiliation: Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tontini
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lucattini
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fucili
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Gregorio
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mirra
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fragola
authors.affiliation: University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pompili
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infectious Diseases, Catholic University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Murri
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vella
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: HIV-symptoms list; Health related quality of life; Patients reported outcomes