Receiving a positive Papanicolaou smear result and undergoing colposcopy, biopsy, and treatment can be stressful for women; the resulting psychological distress may interfere with treatment and follow-up adherence. Measuring distress accurately is critical to evaluating interventions or procedures that may ameliorate the distress. As part of a study to evaluate emerging technologies for cervical cancer screening and diagnosis from the patient perspective, we adapted and evaluated the Psychosocial Effects of Abnormal Pap Smear questionnaire (Bennetts, Irwig, Oldenburg et al., 1995). This questionnaire assesses distress about an abnormal Pap smear in four areas: medical procedures, changes in perception of self, worry about infectivity, effect on sexual relationships. We pilot tested the questionnaire with patients attending a three colposcopy clinics. Data from the first 74 patients indicated that there was no difference in distress between new and follow-up patients, but the public clinic patients reported slightly more distress than the cancer center patients (p=0.08). Reliability for the subscales and total scale ranged from 0.61 – 0.88 (Cronbach’s alpha). Follow-up patients completed an interview about the questionnaire, in which they rephrased the questions and commented on difficulties in responding. Rephrasing of questions uncovered multiple interpretations of some questions, particularly those regarding medical procedures. For example, the question “Did you find the procedures uncomfortable?” was interpreted as asking about three things: physical pain, being in an awkward physical position, and emotional discomfort. We will present data on question interpretation from Spanish- and English-speaking patients, and the application of these data to questionnaire revision.
Learning Objectives: After attending this presentation, the participants will be able to: 1. Recognize the importance of collecting qualitative and quantitative data when pilot testing questionnaires 2. Understand how qualitative and quantitative data is applied to testing and revision of questionnaires. 3. List dimensions of distress experienced by women undergoing colposcopy
Keywords: Cervical Cancer, Cancer Screening
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.