A comparison of brief versus explicit descriptors for verbal rating scales: interrupted time series design.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Verbal rating scales (VRS) are widely used in patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. At our institution, patients complete an online instrument using VRSs with a five-point brief response scale to assess symptoms as part of routine follow-up after ambulatory cancer surgery. We received feedback from patients that the brief VRS descriptors such as "mild" or "somewhat" were vague. We added explicit descriptors to our VRSs, for instance, "Mild: I can generally ignore my pain" for pain severity or "Somewhat: I can do some things okay, but most of my daily activities are harder because of fatigue" for fatigue interference. We then compared responses before and after this change was made.

Methods

The symptoms investigated were pain, fatigue and nausea. Our hypothesis

SUBMITTER: Vickers AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10498613 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature