Evaluation of urgency in women, with a validated Urgency, Severity and Impact Questionnaire (USIQ)

The objective of this study is to develop a validated, patient-oriented questionnaire to assess urgency and associated life impact. We interviewed six urogynecologists and urologists and five patients with overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms about urinary urgency. Based on this data, we composed the first draft of our Urgency Severity and Impact Questionnaire (USIQ). A focus group of OAB patients provided feedback on the USIQ draft. The revised questionnaire has two parts: symptom severity (USIQ-S) and related quality of life (USIQ-QOL). The questionnaire was given to patients with clinically diagnosed OAB to establish face, content and discriminatory validity. Cronbach's alpha for the USIQ-S and USIQ-QOL were 0.85 and 0.90, respectively. USIQ-QOL was moderately correlated with UDI-6 (r = 0.49, p < 0.001), IIQ-7 (r = 0.77, p < 0.001), and OAB-q (r = 0.73, p < 0.001). Mean USIQ-QOL and USIQ-S scores differed by clinical diagnosis. The USIQ is an easily understood questionnaire with adequate validity for use in clinical practice and research.