Faculty Collaboration Database

Development of the NIH PROMIS ® Sexual Function and Satisfaction measures in patients with cancer. J Sex Med 2013 Feb;10 Suppl 1(0 1):43-52

Date

03/21/2013

Pubmed ID

23387911

Pubmed Central ID

PMC3729213

DOI

10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02995.x

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84873457442 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   128 Citations

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: We describe the development and validation of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System(®) Sexual Function and Satisfaction (PROMIS(®) SexFS; National Institutes of Health) measures, version 1.0, for cancer populations.

AIM: To develop a customizable self-report measure of sexual function and satisfaction as part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health PROMIS Network.

METHODS: Our multidisciplinary working group followed a comprehensive protocol for developing psychometrically robust patient-reported outcome measures including qualitative (scale development) and quantitative (psychometric evaluation) development. We performed an extensive literature review, conducted 16 focus groups with cancer patients and multiple discussions with clinicians, and evaluated candidate items in cognitive testing with patients. We administered items to 819 cancer patients. Items were calibrated using item-response theory and evaluated for reliability and validity.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The PROMIS SexFS measures, version 1.0, include 81 items in 11 domains: Interest in Sexual Activity, Lubrication, Vaginal Discomfort, Erectile Function, Global Satisfaction with Sex Life, Orgasm, Anal Discomfort, Therapeutic Aids, Sexual Activities, Interfering Factors, and Screener Questions.

RESULTS: In addition to content validity (patients indicate that items cover important aspects of their experiences) and face validity (patients indicate that items measure sexual function and satisfaction), the measure shows evidence for discriminant validity (domains discriminate between groups expected to be different) and convergent validity (strong correlations between scores on PROMIS and scores on conceptually similar older measures of sexual function), as well as favorable test-retest reliability among people not expected to change (interclass correlations from two administrations of the instrument, 1 month apart).

CONCLUSIONS: The PROMIS SexFS offers researchers a reliable and valid set of tools to measure self-reported sexual function and satisfaction among diverse men and women. The measures are customizable; researchers can select the relevant domains and items comprising those domains for their study.

Author List

Flynn KE, Lin L, Cyranowski JM, Reeve BB, Reese JB, Jeffery DD, Smith AW, Porter LS, Dombeck CB, Bruner DW, Keefe FJ, Weinfurt KP

Author

Kathryn Eve Flynn PhD Vice Chair, Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasms
Psychometrics
Quality of Life
Reproducibility of Results
Self Report
Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological
Sexuality
United States