Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2007 Jul 6:5:38.
doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-5-38.

Serial personal digital assistant data capture of health-related quality of life: a randomized controlled trial in a prostate cancer clinic

Andrew G Matthew  1 , Kristen L Currie, Jane Irvine, Paul Ritvo, Daniel Santa Mina, Leah Jamnicky, Robert Nam, John Trachtenberg
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Serial personal digital assistant data capture of health-related quality of life: a randomized controlled trial in a prostate cancer clinic

Andrew G Matthew et al. Health Qual Life Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: In clinical and research practice linked to prostate cancer treatment, frequent monitoring of patient health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is essential. Practical and analytic limitations of paper questionnaire data capture may be overcome with the use of self-administered personal digital assistant (PDA) data collection. The objective of this study was to assess the reliability, validity, and feasibility of using PDA in place of paper versions of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), the Patient Oriented Prostate Cancer Utility Survey (PORPUS), and the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) in a prostate cancer clinic setting.

Methods: 152 participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) paper followed by PDA survey; 2) PDA followed by paper survey; or 3) PDA followed by PDA survey. Evaluation included an assessment of data quality (internal consistency, test-retest reliability, response correlation, completeness of data), and feasibility (participation rates, time to completion, preference and difficulty/ease of using PDA).

Results: Internal consistency was similar for both PDA and paper applications. Test-retest reliability was confirmed for PDA repeated administration. Data from paper and PDA questionnaires were strongly correlated. Lower missed item rates were found in PDA administration. 82.8% of participants preferred using the PDA or had no preference. Mean difficulty/ease ratings indicated that participants found the PDA easy to use. Age did not significantly correlate with preference or difficulty.

Conclusion: The results confirm the adaptability of the IPSS, IIEF-5, and the PORPUS to PDA administration. Similarly, the findings of this study support the feasibility of using PDA technology for HRQOL serial data capture in the prostate cancer patient population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Side by side comparison: PDA and paper/pencil survey.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PDA skipped question confirmation screen.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Stanford JL, Feng Z, Hamilton AS, Gilliland FD, Stephenson RA, Eley JW, Albertsen PC, Harlan LC, Potosky AL. Urinary and sexual function after radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer: The prostate cancer outcomes study. JAMA. 2000;283:354–360. doi: 10.1001/jama.283.3.354. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lilleby W, Fossa SD, Waehre HR, Olsen DR. Long-term morbidity and quality of life in patients with localized prostate cancer undergoing definitive radiotherapy or radical prostatectomy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1999;43:735–743. doi: 10.1016/S0360-3016(98)00475-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cooperberg MR, Koppie TM, Lubeck DP, Ye J, Grossfeld GD, Mehta SS, Carroll PR. How potent is potent? Evaluation of sexual function and bother in men who report potency after treatment for prostate cancer: Data from CaPSURE. Urology. 2003;61:190–196. doi: 10.1016/S0090-4295(02)02118-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schover LR, Fouladi RT, Warneke CL, Neese L, Klein EA, Zippe C, Kupelian PA. Defining sexual outcomes after treatment for localized prostate carcinoma. Cancer. 2002;95:1773–1785. doi: 10.1002/cncr.10848. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Couper MP, Nicholls II WL. The history and development of computer assisted survey information collection methods. In: Couper MP, Baker RP, Bethlehem J, Clark CZF, Martin J, Nicholls II WL, O'Reilly JM, editor. Computer assisted survey information collection. New York , John Wiley; 1998.

Publication types