Multiple questionnaires exist for the assessment of pelvic pain. There is a need for a measurement systemthat is sufficiently sensitive to identify persons with these symptoms, conditions, or at risk for thedevelopment of these conditions with a brief-yet-precise, tailored to the individual and easy system toimplement. A system that meets these needs is likely to be accepted and routinely used by clinicians andfamilies. Such a measurement system should: include items that capture the unique aspects of specificdisease/treatment effects; across the disease continuum; take into account developmentaldifferences among age groups; and produce scores calibrated onto a common metric. One of themost flexible approaches for addressing these measurement issues is to develop screening tools basedupon a comprehensive item bank which in turn can facilitate individualized computerized adaptive testing(CAT) and short-forms (e.g., age- or content-specific).The NIH Roadmap Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) is developingHRQL item banks applicable across disease populations.50 As comprehensive as the PROMIS is, it does notfully address the needs of pelvic pain patients. To fill this need we propose to develop and validate a pelvicpain item bank (PPIB). The PPIB can provide a means for timely referral for patients in need, which maythen lead to early intervention. The PPIB bank will be developed via the completion of the following aims:
Aim 1 : Generate an item pool for the pelvic pain population. We will develop this item pool by reviewing thecurrent literature, existing measures, and an item library that we have built via several federally-fundedprojects. Toward ensuring content validity, items will be rigorously reviewed by clinicians and patients itemsmay/will be added to ensure the comprehensiveness of the pool.
Aim 2 : Develop item bank(s) anddetermine their psychometric properties, a) Evaluate the essential unidimensionality of the PPIB item pool.Results of this aim will determine the number of item banks to be developed; b) Calibrate the item bank(s)using item response theory (IRT) models. We will evaluate item/model/person fit, compare itemdiscrimination power, and graph information function at both the item and scale levels. Additionally, we willassess the item parameter stability by estimating differential item functioning (DIP) across variousdemographic and clinical conditions in a nationally representative sample population, c) Develop userfriendlyshort-forms for screening patients in a clinical setting.
Aim 3 : Validate the PPIB item bank(s) inrelation to external clinical criteria;
Aim 4 : Calculate Prevalence of self-reported pelvic pain conditions.
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