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Development of patient satisfaction questionnaires: I. Methodological issues.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a method for conducting postal surveys of patients' views and experiences of general practitioner care and to produce an off the shelf tool for general practice audit. DESIGN: Prospective study of performance of two patient questionnaires assessing accessibility to services (questionnaire 1) and interpersonal aspects of care (questionnaire 2) in comparing general practices. SETTING: Five general practices in Newcastle upon Tyne. PATIENTS: 3800 patients aged 16 and over, 1900 randomly drawn from family health services authority lists for each practice (questionnaire 1) and 1900 drawn from practice records (questionnaire 2). MAIN MEASURES: Response rates and technical evaluation of performance of the questionnaires (reliability, item nonresponse, ineligible response, sensitivity, and validity). RESULTS: Response rate for questionnaire 1 was 77% (range 69% to 83%) and to questionnaire 2, 82% (77% to 86%). Analysis of respondents and nonrespondents showed that significantly more women, people aged 65 or more, and those consulting in the past six months returned the questionnaires. Technical evaluation indicated good face validity and content validity and good internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: A standardised off the shelf tool for audit was developed, and it will be a valuable model for future audits in general practice.

England↗

Making sense of ambiguity: evaluation in internal reliability and face validity of the SF 36 questionnaire in women presenting with menorrhagia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the face validity and internal reliability of the short form 36 (SF 36) health survey questionnaire in women presenting with menorrhagia. DESIGN: Postal survey of women recruited by their general practitioners followed by interviews of a selected subsample. PATIENTS: 348 women who had consulted their general practitioner with excessive menstrual bleeding and completed questionnaires after treatment. 49 women selected from this group were interviewed in depth about their health status, and requested to complete the SF 36 questionnaire. MAIN MEASURES: Subjective accounts of functioning and wellbeing as measured by the eight scales of the SF 36 questionnaire. RESULTS: Data from the postal survey indicated that the ¿general health perceptions¿ and ¿mental health¿ scales of the SF 36 questionnaire had lower internal reliability coefficients than documented elsewhere. In the follow up interviews several questions on the SF 36 questionnaire were commented on as inappropriate or difficult to answer for patients with heavy menstrual bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: Some questions on the SF 36 questionnaire were difficult to answer for this group of patients. Such problems can adversely effect the validity of the measure. It is suggested that comments of patients upon measures such as the SF 36 questionnaire could both determine the appropriateness of such measures for given studies and influence questionnaire design.

Adult↗

[Questionnaire to evaluate health web sites according to European criteria].

OBJECTIVES: To design a questionnaire to evaluate compliance with quality criteria on health web sites and to analyse its reliability. DESIGN: A descriptive study on the reliability of a questionnaire. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty web sites on health topics. SETTING: Internet. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: The questionnaire was based on analysis of content of the criteria of the e-Europe 2002 code of conduct, comparing these with the criteria underlying the AMA, the Summit code and the e-Health Code of Ethics regulations and current directives. The dimensions studied were transparency, absence of conflicts of interest, authorship, data protection, updating, accountability, and accessibility. A preliminary questionnaire was drawn up for a pilot test conducted by 3 researchers for 20 web sites, its reliability was appraised, adjustments were made and the definitive questionnaire was designed. Reliability was evaluated again for 26 web sites evaluated by 3 researchers. To evaluate concordance in the answers of the participants, Cohen's Kappa index with a 95% confidence level was used. RESULTS: All the quality directives of e-Europe 2002, the European regulations and relevant points from other questionnaires were included in the questionnaire designed. Reliability was acceptable (kappa > or = 0.60) for 12 of the 18 quality criteria included. The least concordant aspects of the questionnaire were information update (kappa = 0.310) and accessibility (search for contents and access for persons with disability). CONCLUSIONS: Reliability of the questionnaire designed was acceptable.

Delivery of Health Care↗

Validation of questionnaires from several medical fields regarding the constitution of patients.

INTRODUCTION: To consider or determine an individual's 'warm and cold' constitution is common part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Indian medicine (Ayurveda), anthroposophic medicine and classical natural medicine. OBJECTIVE: Common psychometric characteristics of 4 questionnaires should be examined. METHODS: 110 cancer patients and 110 non-cancer patients were asked to answer these questionnaires twice 4 weeks apart. Subsequent validation of the questionnaires included psychometrical qualities of item acceptability, sensitivity to change, construct validity (homogeneity), re-test reliability and group comparison. RESULTS: The Ayurveda questionnaire was considered suitable after reducing the questions from 22 to 8 (internal construct validity kappa = 0.64). The TCM questionnaire was considered unsuitable in our model because of the absence of construct validity. The questionnaire on anthroposophic medicine was considered a suitable and reliable tool with alpha = 0.57 (Cronbach's alpha) and r = 0.61 (re-test reliability) after reducing the questions from 6 to 4. The questionnaire on sensitivity to temperatures based on classical natural medicine was considered suitable after reducing the questions from 10 to 8 (alpha = 0.58; r = 0.73). Cancer and non-cancer patients differ in only one item, i.e. in their sensitivities to cold. CONCLUSION: The questionnaires for anthroposophic medicine, Ayurveda medicine and sensitivity to temperatures are in part suitable and reliable for determining individual constitutions according to their medical philosophy. The questionnaire based on traditional Chinese medicine failed these criteria. A difference between patients with or without malignant disease was only observed for sensitivity to temperatures. The anthroposophic hypothesis that cancer either changes an individual's thermic constitution or is caused by such a change could not be confirmed in this study.

Body Temperature↗

Psychometric properties of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire in patients with neck pain.

OBJECTIVES: To translate the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire and investigate the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the questionnaire in patients with neck pain. DESIGN: Observational cross-sectional and prospective study. SETTING: Physiotherapy outpatient departments. SUBJECTS: Four samples with 476 consecutive adult patients with neck pain from four physiotherapy centres. METHODS: The original questionnaire was translated into Chinese by forward and backward translation and reviewed by a panel of experts. The subjects completed the Chinese version of the fear-avoidance questionnaire, Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire, Medical Outcomes 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey and their pain intensity was measured using an 11-point pain numerical rating scale. They were observed and measured at the beginning of physiotherapy, at week 3 and at week 6 after treatment began. RESULTS: The questionnaire had very good content validity and test-retest reliability with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.81 and Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.90. Spearman's correlation coefficients between fear-avoidance and the neck pain questionnaire, the health survey (physical), health survey (mental) and pain scale were 0.56, 0.45, 0.36 and 0.34, respectively. The standard response mean and effect size at week 6 were 0.38 and 0.32, respectively. Factor analysis yielded three factors which accounted for 61.6% of the total variance of the questionnaire. CONCLUSION: The Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for patients with neck pain. It has been shown to demonstrate very good content validity, a high degree of test-retest reliability and internal consistency, good construct validity and medium responsiveness.

Adult↗

A new questionnaire for the repeat of the first stage of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey: a pilot study.

In the early 1990s a multicentre survey on asthma was performed on the young adult population (European Community Respiratory Health Survey - ECRHS). This study is to be repeated in order to estimate changes in the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms during the last decade and to assess the social and economic costs of the disease and their variations among countries. The self-administered questionnaire devised for this purpose is a two-page questionnaire. The first page contains the same items as those used in the first survey with four additional questions related to: 1) the frequency and severity of asthma attacks; 2) the presence of chronic bronchitis; 3) smoking habits; and 4) a visual analogue scale assessing perception of outdoor pollution. The second page aims to collect information regarding the direct and indirect costs of asthma. The influence of the length of the questionnaire on the response rate was assessed in a pilot study in Italy. Two random samples of 150 subjects received either the one-page questionnaire (first page) or the two-page questionnaire. The response rate was compared with that obtained from the first postal wave in the 1991-1992 survey. Although the response rate was unchanged when using the one-page questionnaire (45% versus 45%), it decreased by 7% when the two-page questionnaire was used (38% versus 45%). On the basis of these results, no problem should arise if four more questions are added to the one-page questionnaire. The slight reduction in the response rate of the two-page questionnaire is worrying but could be corrected by the use of telephone interviews.

Adult↗

Identifying patients who require a change in their current acute migraine treatment: the Migraine Assessment of Current Therapy (Migraine-ACT) questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Currently available measures of the efficacy of acute migraine medications are not frequently used in primary care. They may be too burdensome and complicated for routine use. OBJECTIVES: To design and test a new, easy to use, 4-item assessment tool, the Migraine Assessment of Current Therapy (Migraine-ACT) questionnaire for use by clinicians, to quickly evaluate how a recently prescribed acute medication is working, and to identify patients who require a change of their current acute treatment. METHODS: A 27-item Migraine-ACT questionnaire was developed by an international advisory board of headache specialists. Questions were formulated in four domains: headache impact, global assessment of relief, consistency of response and emotional response. All these are clinically important measures of migraine severity and treatment outcome. All questions were dichotomous and answered by yes or no. Patients (n = 185) attending secondary care headache clinics who were diagnosed with migraine according to International Headache Society criteria entered a multinational, prospective, observational study to investigate the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the 27-item Migraine-ACT. Patients completed the Migraine-ACT on two occasions, separated by a 1-week interval, and test-retest reliability was assessed by Pearson product moment and Spearman rank measures. Construct validity was assessed by correlating patients' answers to the 27-item Migraine-ACT with those to other questionnaires (individual domains and total scores) conceptually related to it; the Short-Form 36 quality of life questionnaire (SF-36), the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) questionnaire and the Migraine Therapy Assessment Questionnaire (MTAQ). Discriminatory t-tests were used to identify the four Migraine-ACT questions (one in each domain) which discriminated best between the domains of the SF36, MIDAS, and MTAQ. These four items constituted the final 4-item Migraine-ACT. RESULTS: The test-retest reliability of the 27 Migraine-ACT questions ranged from good to excellent, and correlation coefficients were highly significant for all items. The consistency of reporting the yes and no answers was also excellent. Correlations of Migraine-ACT items with SF-36 and MIDAS items and SF-36, MIDAS and MTAQ total scores indicated that the following were the most discriminating items, in the respective four domains, and constitute the final Migraine-ACT questionnaire: Consistency of response: Does your migraine medication work consistently, in the majority of your attacks? Global assessment of relief: Does the headache pain disappear within 2 h? IMPACT: Are you able to function normally within 2 h? Emotional response: Are you comfortable enough with your medication to be able to plan your daily activities? The 4-item Migraine-ACT was shown to be highly reliable (Spearman/Pearson measure r = 0.82). The individual questions, and the total 4-item Migraine-ACT score, showed good correlation with items of the SF-36, MIDAS and MTAQ questionnaires, particularly with the total MTAQ and SF-36 scores. CONCLUSIONS: The 4-item Migraine-ACT questionnaire is an assessment tool for use by primary care physicians to identify patients who require a change in their current acute migraine treatment. It is brief and simple to complete and score, and has demonstrated reliability, accuracy and simplicity. Migraine-ACT can therefore be recommended for everyday clinical use by clinicians.

Acute Disease↗

Maximising response to postal questionnaires--a systematic review of randomised trials in health research.

BACKGROUND: Postal self-completion questionnaires offer one of the least expensive modes of collecting patient based outcomes in health care research. The purpose of this review is to assess the efficacy of methods of increasing response to postal questionnaires in health care studies on patient populations. METHODS: The following databases were searched: Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, CDSR, PsycINFO, NRR and ZETOC. Reference lists of relevant reviews and relevant journals were hand searched. Inclusion criteria were randomised trials of strategies to improve questionnaire response in health care research on patient populations. Response rate was defined as the percentage of questionnaires returned after all follow-up efforts. Study quality was assessed by two independent reviewers. The Mantel-Haenszel method was used to calculate the pooled odds ratios. RESULTS: Thirteen studies reporting fifteen trials were included. Implementation of reminder letters and telephone contact had the most significant effect on response rates (odds ratio 3.7, 95% confidence interval 2.30 to 5.97 p = or <0.00001). Shorter questionnaires also improved response rates to a lesser degree (odds ratio 1.4, 95% confidence interval 1.19 to 1.54). No evidence was found that incentives, re-ordering of questions or including an information brochure with the questionnaire confer any additional advantage. CONCLUSION: Implementing repeat mailing strategies and/or telephone reminders may improve response to postal questionnaires in health care research. Making the questionnaire shorter may also improve response rates. There is a lack of evidence to suggest that incentives are useful. In the context of health care research all strategies to improve response to postal questionnaires require further evaluation.

Correspondence as Topic↗

Clinic-based screening for domestic violence: use of a child safety questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Domestic violence affects many women during their lifetime. Children living in homes where they are or have been exposed to violence are at increased risk for adverse outcomes. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Practice, and the American College of Obstetrics/Gynecology have recently joined in recommending routine screening of all families for the presence of domestic violence. We present our experience with an office-based domestic violence screening questionnaire. METHODS: A series of four child safety questionnaires (designed for parents of infant, preschool-age, school-age, and adolescent patients), which included specific questions about domestic violence, was given to all mothers presenting to a university out-patient general pediatric clinic. The questionnaires, offered in both English and Spanish, were reviewed for the presence of domestic violence exposure, usually at the time of the clinic visit. The number of women who reported either current or past exposure to domestic violence as disclosed by this active screening process was compared to the number discovered prior to the use of these questionnaires. RESULTS: Prior to the use of active screening with a child safety questionnaire, five cases of domestic violence were identified in our clinic population of approximately 5000 children over a 3 month period. Active screening of this population with a parent questionnaire resulted in the identification of 69 cases of current domestic violence exposure (2% of those screened) during each of 2 years of screening. Use of the child safety questionnaire was associated with a significantly increased odds of detecting current domestic violence (OR = 3.6, 95% CI [1.4, 9.1], P = 0.007), with 72% [26-84%] of the cases identified being attributable to the use of the questionnaire. Of children screened, 2% were currently exposed to domestic violence, and 13% had been exposed to past domestic violence. Thus a total of 15% of our patient population has been exposed to domestic violence in their homes. CONCLUSION: Children in our clinic population are frequently exposed to domestic violence. Active screening for the presence of current or past domestic violence through the use of a parent questionnaire resulted in a significant increase in our ability to identify such families and provide appropriate referral information.

Adolescent↗

A simultaneous evaluation of 10 commonly used physical activity questionnaires.

Ten commonly used physical activity questionnaires were evaluated for reliability and validity in 78 men and women aged 20-59, with varying physical activity habits. One month reliability was found to be high for all questionnaires except those pertaining only to the last week or month. Longer term test-retest reliability tended to be lower. Validity was studied in relation to treadmill exercise performance, vital capacity, body fatness, the average of 14 4-wk physical activity histories and the average of 14 2-d accelerometer readings. No questionnaire measure was correlated with the accelerometer reading, and correlations with vital capacity were generally low. Only the Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire household chores measure was correlated with habitual performance of household chores. Most questionnaires, even very simple ones, were related to performance of heavy intensity physical activity and treadmill performance; these same questionnaires tended to be related to percent body fat. Fewer questionnaires related to performance of light or moderate activity. Occupational activity was unrelated to any of the validation measures. It is concluded that there are multiple, nonoverlapping dimensions of physical activity, reflected in multiple nonoverlapping validation realms. More important than the length or attention to detail of a questionnaire seems to be the logic of its questions. Important areas of physical activity that should be addressed in future questionnaires include sleep, light, moderate and heavy intensity leisure activities, household chores, and occupational activity. Recent versus habitual activity should also be considered.

Adult↗

Validity of four short physical activity questionnaires in middle-aged persons.

PURPOSE: Self-administered questionnaires continue to be the most widely used type of physical activity assessment in epidemiological studies. However, test-retest reliability and validity of physical activity questionnaires have to be determined. In this study, three short physical activity questionnaires already used in Switzerland and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were validated. METHODS: Test-retest reliability was assessed by repeated administration of all questionnaires within 3 wk in 178 volunteers (77 women, 46.1+/-14.8 yr; 101 men 46.8+/-13.2 yr). Validity of categorical and continuous data was studied in a subsample of 35 persons in relation to 7-d accelerometer readings, percent body fat, and cardiorespiratory fitness. RESULTS: Reliability was fair to good with a Spearman correlation coefficient range of 0.43-0.68 for measures of continuous data and moderate to fair with Kappa values between 0.32 and 0.46 for dichotomous measures active/inactive. Total physical activity reported in the IPAQ and the Office in Motion Questionnaire (OIMQ) correlated with accelerometry readings (r=0.39 and 0.44, respectively). In contrast, correlations of self-reported physical data with percent body fat and cardiorespiratory fitness were low (r=-0.26-0.29). Participants categorized as active by the Swiss HEPA Survey 1999 instrument (HEPA99) accumulated significantly more days of the recommended physical activities than their inactive counterparts (4.4 and 2.7 d.wk, respectively, P<0.05). However, compared with accelerometer data, vigorous physical activities were overreported in investigated questionnaires. CONCLUSION: Collecting valid data on physical activity remains a challenging issue for questionnaire surveys. The IPAQ and the three other questionnaires are characterized to inform decisions about their appropriate use.

Adolescent↗

Validation of a structured questionnaire as an instrument to measure chronic pain in dogs on the basis of effects on health-related quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To validate the use of a novel questionnaire as an instrument for measurement of chronic pain in dogs through its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQL). ANIMALS: 108 dogs with chronic degenerative joint disease and 26 healthy dogs. PROCEDURES: Questionnaire responses were subjected to factor analysis (FA) and questionnaire scores to discriminant analysis to evaluate construct validity. Questionnaire scores were used to explore the potential of this instrument for minimizing respondent bias and for evaluative purposes. RESULTS: FA results revealed a sensible factor structure accounting for 65% of the variance in data, with factors identifiable as domains of HRQL in dogs affected by chronic pain. Further evidence for construct validity was provided when questionnaire scores were used to discriminate, on the basis of 218 questionnaires, between dogs with clinician-awarded pain scores of 0 and dogs with pain scores >or= 1 (88% discrimination, with 95% of no-pain group dogs and 87% of some-pain group dogs correctly categorized). Use of the questionnaire provided minimized respondent bias. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Validation of the questionnaire as an instrument for discriminative and evaluative measurements of orthopedic chronic pain through its impact on HRQL in dogs was provided. Use of the questionnaire, with further testing and refinement, may support improved clinical decision making, facilitate development of evidence-based therapeutic options for chronic diseases, and help veterinarians and owners define humane end points in dogs. IMPACT FOR HUMAN MEDICINE: Information gained here may provide improved measurements of clinical change in animal studies that use dogs with naturally occurring chronic pain to evaluate novel human treatment protocols.

Animals↗

Development and validation of a questionnaire for measuring behavior and temperament traits in pet dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a questionnaire to assess behavior and temperament traits of pet dogs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of dog owners. Animals-1,851 dogs belonging to clients of a veterinary teaching hospital or members of national breed clubs and 203 dogs examined by canine behavior practitioners because of behavior problems. PROCEDURE: Owners were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of 152 items eliciting information on how dogs responded to specific events and situations in their usual environment. Data from completed questionnaires were subjected to factor analysis, and the resulting factors were tested for reliability and validity. RESULTS: Factor analysis yielded 11 factors from 68 of the original questionnaire items that together accounted for 57% of the common variance in questionnaire item scores. Reliability was acceptable for all but 1 of these factors. Behavior problems in 200 of the 203 dogs with behavior problems could be assigned to 7 diagnostic categories that matched 7 of the factors identified during factor analysis of questionnaire responses. Dogs assigned to particular diagnostic categories had significantly higher scores for corresponding questionnaire factors than did those assigned to unrelated diagnostic categories, indicating that the factors were valid. Validity of the remaining 4 factors could not be examined because of a lack of information on dogs with behavior problems related to these factors. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Findings suggest that the resulting 68-item questionnaire is a reliable and valid method of assessing behavior and temperament traits in dogs. The questionnaire may be useful in screening dogs for behavior problems and in evaluating the clinical effects of various treatments for behavior problems.

Aggression↗

Questionnaire reliability and validity for aluminum potroom workers.

As a part of a study on the respiratory symptoms of aluminum potroom workers, the reliability of a self-administered questionnaire and an interview questionnaire was studied with the use of 261 and 49 employees, respectively. The validity of the self-administered questionnaire (134 persons examined) and the interview questionnaire (90 persons examined) was assessed in a comparison of the statements with the case histories. The reliability of the self-administered questionnaire was fairly high, the kappa coefficient ranging from 0.58 to 0.83, while the reliability of the interview questionnaire varied from -0.03 to 0.45. The same pattern was present with regard to validity, as the self-administered questionnaire showed the highest mean sensitivity, specificity, and agreement in a comparison with the case histories. The self-administered questionnaire seemed to discriminate well between symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, whereas supplemental information about symptoms, as obtained by a standardized interview questionnaire, appeared to be less valid.

Adult↗

Comparison of respiratory symptoms questionnaires.

SETTING: Comparisons in performance of questionnaires are of interest in international comparisons of prevalences and risk factors, after translation and development of new questionnaires. Factors such as sex, age, educational level and smoking habits may influence the performance of questionnaires. OBJECTIVE: 1) To discuss questionnaire comparisons in general, using as an example a Norwegian respiratory symptoms questionnaire compared with a translation of the British Medical Research Council questionnaire on chronic bronchitis; and 2) to examine whether reliability differs in subgroups. DESIGN: A population sample of 935 residents of Hordaland County, Norway, completed two questionnaires in a short interval of time. Agreement and Cohen's kappa were calculated. RESULTS: Prevalences were significantly different between the two questionnaires for most symptoms. Agreement decreased from non-smokers through ex-smokers to smokers, whereas the kappa statistic increased. Agreement increased as the educational level increased, whereas the kappa statistic declined. No significant age and sex effects on agreement and kappa were observed. CONCLUSION: Small changes in the phrasing of a question can have considerable effect on prevalence estimates. Reliability statistics are prevalence dependent. Reliability may differ according to smoking habit and educational level. Questionnaires should be tested in the population that they are to be used in.

Adult↗

[Development of the ECOS-16 clinical questionnaire for the assessment of the quality of life in patients with osteoporosis].

BACKGROUND: The use of currently validated instruments to measure the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with osteoporosis in daily clinical practice is not feasible due to the length of time needed to be administered. The objective of the present study was to develop a new, short questionnaire for women with vertebral fractures due to osteoporosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The administration of two disease-specific questionnaires (OQLQ and QUALEFFO) and the generic SF-36 questionnaire to 338 women with vertebral fracture due to osteoporosis allowed the development of a new questionnaire in 5 stages: i) search for a common structure in both questionnaires; ii) independent reduction of items in the OQLQ and QUALEFFO using Rasch analysis; iii) aggregation of remaining items in both questionnaires into distinct dimensions; iv) quantitative reduction of redundant items in aggregated dimensions; v) qualitative item reduction in aggregated scales. RESULTS: The methodology of the study allowed the development of a 16 item questionnaire (ECOS-16), with 4 items taken from the OQLQ and 12 from the QUALEFFO. The items are grouped into 4 categories: physical functioning (5 items), illness-related fears (2 items), psychosocial functioning (4 items), and pain (5 items). CONCLUSIONS: The ECOS-16 will be a promising alternative, once it is validated, to generic questionnaires and to the specific questionnaires from which its content was extracted, particularly for patients with osteoporotic vertebral fracture in daily clinical practice.

Aged↗

[Validation of a French translation of the Edinburgh claudication questionnaire among general practitioners' patients].

OBJECTIVES: Intermittent claudication is one of the clinical symptoms of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The presence of PAD is a high risk marker of cardiac events and stroke. The PAD screening can be enhanced by the use of questionnaires. The Edinburgh Questionnaire presents in its English version better diagnostic performances compared to the Rose (WHO) Questionnaire. The aim of this study is to precise the performances of the French version of the Edinburgh Questionnaire among a population consulting general practitioners. METHODS: Four centers instructed 10 general practitioners each to the measurement of ankle pressure with a Doppler stethoscope. The physicians administrated the Questionnaire to 10 consecutive consultants in a same day, and measured the pressure on posterior tibial, dorsalis pedis and humeral arteries. With a second questionnaire they collected data concerning age, weight, height, and the presence of major risk factors. The same protocol was repeated a second day on new patients. The diagnosis of PAD was based on an ankle-arm index lower than 0.85 for at least on limb. RESULTS: The population studied consisted of 727 subjects (351 females and 376 males). The mean age was at 58.3 +/- 16.1 years (ranging from 18 to 83.3 years). The sensitivity of the Questionnaire is at 47% (95% CI: 32.3-61.7%), the specificity at 98.8% (95% CI: 97.5-99.4%), the positive and negative predictive values are respectively at 73.3% (95% CI: 54.1-87.7%) and 94.8% (95% CI: 94.7-97.6%). Among this population of general practitioners consultants, the prevalence of a low ankle-arm index under 0.85 is at 6.7%. DISCUSSION: The French version of the Edinburgh Questionnaire maintains the very good specificity of the English version. The lower sensitivity could be explained by the choice of the gold standard, namely the ankle-arm index which includes asymptomatic patients with authentic PAD. The use of this Questionnaire can be recommended for the screening of this disease as well as in epidemiological studies.

Adolescent↗

Methodical approach to data processing from a questionnaire survey.

For conducting questionnaire studies there exist generally recommended methods that were also respected during the project funded by the Grant Agency MoH CR - "Subjective approach of inhabitants of Ostrava to their health in association with their life-style, socio-economic status and education". The preparatory phase included the collection of literature and information on the investigated theme. The questionnaire had got five parts - A. General questions, B. Employment, C. Way of life, D. Health state and E. Personality. The validity of questionnaire was tested in the pre-research. In the main questionnaire study 3,000 questionnaires were sent. The total response rate was 21.1% (634 completed questionnaires). In the sample there were no differences in percentage rate by sex and age, but there are differences in the educational structure. After realizing the main questionnaire study, the repeatability study was carried out to find out the reliability of the answers. The response rate was 60.3% (181 questionnaires). The Kappa index and the total percentage of agreement were used for the evaluation of the repeatability study. The agreement was almost perfect and good in the total of 62.3 % of the questions. The quality of data was ensured by double data entry and by choosing the appropriate software. The selection of data for the complex analysis was based on the results of the repeatability study. On the basis of individual information from the questionnaire, new groups of individuals were generated. These groups of individuals were analysed further in relation to health and life-style by socio-economic factors in the models.

Electronic Data Processing↗