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Anogenital Distance and Perineal Measurements of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse POP Quantification System
Published on: September 20, 2018
Validation of the Amharic version of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptom Score (POP-SS)
Tadesse Belayneh1, Abebaw Gebeyehu2, Mulat Adefris3
1Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. tadbel20@gmail.com.
Introduction And Hypothesis:
We aimed to translate and culturally adapt the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptom Score (POP-SS) into Amharic and evaluate its psychometric properties.
Methods:
We followed an intercultural adaptation procedure to translate and adapt the POP-SS. One hundred and eighty-six women with POP symptoms completed the Amharic POP-SS and Prolapse Quality of Life (P-QoL) questionnaires. All women were examined using a simplified Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (SPOP-Q) system and were divided into four groups based on the POP-Q scores as stage 1, 2, 3, and 4. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were determined using Cronbach's alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), respectively. Criterion validity was assessed against the SPOP-Q stage and the P-QoL scale. Furthermore, we tested construct validity using exploratory factor analysis.
Results:
The POP-SS score was successfully translated and achieved good content validity. It had high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.81; p < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference among four groups of stages in POP-SS score. and women with stage 3 had the highest median score (Kruskal-Wallis test; p < 0.05). The POP-SS score was also significantly correlated with the P-QoL score (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.28, p < 0.001). The exploratory factor analysis identified two factors, namely, physical symptoms and evacuation symptoms.
Conclusions:
The POP-SS scale was successfully translated to Amharic and appears reliable and valid for women with symptoms of POP. However, further studies are needed to evaluate its responsiveness.
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