1
|
Investigating gender-based differential item functioning on the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) using qualitative content analysis. Qual Life Res 2023; 32:841-852. [PMID: 36322269 PMCID: PMC9628332 DOI: 10.1007/s11136-022-03276-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to evaluate potential gender-based differences in interpreting the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-23) and to explore if there are aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) not captured by the KCCQ-23 that are important to assess in men and/or women with heart failure (HF). METHODS Patients ≥ 22 years of age with clinician-diagnosed HF and left ventricular ejection fraction ≤ 40% were recruited from two academic medical centers to participate in semi-structured concept elicitation and cognitive debriefing interviews. Enrollment was stratified by patient-identified gender (half women/half men). All interviews were conducted over the phone/web and audio recorded. Interviews were transcribed and descriptive qualitative content analysis was used to summarize findings overall and by gender. RESULTS Twenty-five adults (56% women) diagnosed with HF participated. The average age was 67 years (range: 25-88). Women attributed a wider variety of symptoms to HF than men. Some participants had difficulty differentiating whether their experiences were due to HF, side effects of their medications, or age. We found very little evidence that participants interpreted KCCQ-23 items differently based on gender. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our findings indicate that interpretation of the KCCQ-23 items were similar in men and women. However, some modifications to items may improve clarity of interpretation for a wide range of patients.
Collapse
|
2
|
Coles TM, Lin L, Weinfurt K, Reeve BB, Spertus JA, Mentz RJ, Piña IL, Bocell FD, Tarver ME, Henke DM, Saha A, Caldwell B, Spring S. Do PRO Measures Function the Same Way for all Individuals With Heart Failure? J Card Fail 2023; 29:210-216. [PMID: 35691480 DOI: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2022.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Women diagnosed with heart failure report worse quality of life than men on patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. An inherent assumption of PRO measures in heart failure is that women and men interpret questions about quality of life the same way. If this is not the case, the risk then becomes that the PRO scores cannot be used for valid comparison or to combine outcomes by subgroups of the population. Inability to compare subgroups validly is a broad issue and has implications for clinical trials, and it also has specific and important implications for identifying and beginning to address health inequities. We describe this threat to validity (the psychometric term is differential item functioning), why it is so important in heart-failure outcomes, the research that has been conducted thus far in this area, the gaps that remain, and what we can do to avoid this threat to validity. PROs bring unique information to clinical decision making, and the validity of PRO measures is key to interpreting differences in heart failure outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Theresa M Coles
- Center for Health Measurement, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
| | - Li Lin
- Center for Health Measurement, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Kevin Weinfurt
- Center for Health Measurement, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Bryce B Reeve
- Center for Health Measurement, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - John A Spertus
- Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute/University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri
| | - Robert J Mentz
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Ileana L Piña
- Wayne State University/Central Michigan University, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Fraser D Bocell
- Wayne State University/Central Michigan University, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Michelle E Tarver
- Wayne State University/Central Michigan University, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Debra M Henke
- Center for Health Measurement, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Anindita Saha
- Wayne State University/Central Michigan University, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Brittany Caldwell
- Wayne State University/Central Michigan University, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Silver Spring
- Wayne State University/Central Michigan University, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Detroit, Michigan
| |
Collapse
|