Catherine Bradley, M.D., M.S.C.E. is a full-time faculty member in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Iowa. Her long-term goal is to become a successful, independent investigator focusing on patient-oriented research in female urinary incontinence (UI). She has recently completed a Master's program in Clinical Epidemiology, and she intends to pursue further formal research training, specifically in areas of questionnaire development, psychometric analyses and the use of survey data in epidemiologic studies. This award would allow her to pursue a research career development plan that includes additional advanced courses and instruction in biostatistical and epidemiologic methodology, the closely mentored completion of this research protocol, and participation in a broad range of research activities by interacting with established research groups and their ongoing projects. Dr. Bradley's immediate goals for the award period include: 1) complete coursework targeted in areas of research methodology and analysis important to this protocol; 2) further develop her critical thinking skills in clinical and epidemiologic study design and statistical analyses through the mentorship described in this application and by attending seminars and meetings; 3) become involved in multiple types of clinical and epidemiologic research, such as clinical trials and cohort studies, by working closely with her mentors at the University of Iowa and elsewhere; 4) conduct, analyze and interpret results from the proposed questionnaire development research project; 5) present research findings to the scientific community via presentations and publications; and 6) develop an area of research expertise that will lead to future study opportunities. As her main research effort, Dr. Bradley proposes to develop and test a Questionnaire for Female Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis (QUID). Her hypothesis is that a self-administered symptom-based questionnaire can accurately predict if a woman has stress and/or urge Ul.
The specific aims are to measure the validity, reliability and responsiveness of the QUID. To fulfill these aims, she will complete a prospective, split-sample longitudinal study of outpatients with Ul symptoms. Criterion validity of the QUID will be tested by comparing the QUID'S diagnoses to formalized clinical diagnoses as the gold standard. Precise measurements of the QUID'S sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of stress and urge Ul will be performed. Reliability, reproducibility and responsiveness of the QUID will be measured. This study will produce a rigorously developed and tested questionnaire, which will be a useful diagnostic tool for clinicians and researchers who wish to accurately predict the underlying diagnoses behind female Ul symptoms. The combination of clinical and research resources available at the University of Iowa provides an ideal environment for Dr. Bradley's research career development. Dr. Bradley has the enthusiastic support of the Colleges of Medicine and Public Health, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecologv and her mentors and collaborators.
| Bradley, Catherine S; Nygaard, Ingrid E; Mengeling, Michelle A et al. (2012) Urinary incontinence, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder in women veterans. Am J Obstet Gynecol 206:502.e1-8 |
| Bradley, Catherine S; Brown, Jeanette S; Van Den Eeden, Stephen K et al. (2011) Urinary incontinence self-report questions: reproducibility and agreement with bladder diary. Int Urogynecol J 22:1565-71 |
| Bradley, Catherine S; Rahn, David D; Nygaard, Ingrid E et al. (2010) The questionnaire for urinary incontinence diagnosis (QUID): validity and responsiveness to change in women undergoing non-surgical therapies for treatment of stress predominant urinary incontinence. Neurourol Urodyn 29:727-34 |
| Kennedy, Colleen M; Turcea, Anne M; Bradley, Catherine S (2009) Prevalence of vulvar and vaginal symptoms during pregnancy and the puerperium. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 105:236-9 |
| Bradley, Catherine S; Zimmerman, M Bridget; Wang, Qian et al. (2008) Vaginal descent and pelvic floor symptoms in postmenopausal women: a longitudinal study. Obstet Gynecol 111:1148-53 |
| Bradley, Catherine S; Kennedy, Colleen M; Turcea, Anne M et al. (2007) Constipation in pregnancy: prevalence, symptoms, and risk factors. Obstet Gynecol 110:1351-7 |
| Bradley, Catherine S; Zimmerman, M Bridget; Qi, Yingwei et al. (2007) Natural history of pelvic organ prolapse in postmenopausal women. Obstet Gynecol 109:848-54 |
