title: Clinical assessment of the impact of pelvic pain on women.
abstract: We aimed to develop a questionnaire that assesses the impact of pelvic pain on women, regardless of diagnosis, that has high utility, sound psychometric performance, easy scoring, and high reliability. Two studies, with 3 separate cohorts, were undertaken. Both studies were completed online. Studies included women with self-reported pelvic pain. Women were eligible to participate regardless of whether their pelvic pain was undiagnosed, self-diagnosed, or diagnosed by a clinician. Study 1 used a 3-round "patient-as-expert" Delphi technique. These rounds defined the 10 aspects of life with the self-reported greatest impact on the lives of women with pelvic pain, which formed the questionnaire. Study 2 used Rasch analysis to assess the psychometric properties of the resultant 10-item questionnaire. To assess its reliability, a subgroup completed the questionnaire 3 times over a 3-week period. In study 1, 443 women with pelvic pain participated. The resultant 10-item questionnaire consisted of 8 Likert questions and 2 supplemental, nonscored questions. In study 2, 1203 women with pelvic pain completed the questionnaire. Rasch analysis showed that the questionnaire targeted the pelvic pain population well, had appropriate Likert categories, constituted a unidimensional scale, and showed internal consistency. Twenty-seven women with pelvic pain completed the reliability trial. Test-retest reliability was high (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.91, P < 0.001). The resultant Pelvic Pain Impact Questionnaire assesses the life impact of pelvic pain. It uses patient-generated language, is easily administered and scored, has very strong psychometric properties, and it is suitable for research and clinical settings across primary, secondary, and tertiary care.
authors.affiliation: Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: K Jane
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Chalmers
authors.affiliation: Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Catley
authors.affiliation: Pelvic Pain SA, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Susan F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: G Lorimer
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Moseley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017699:Pelvic Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult