The ED-EQoL: The development of a new quality of life measure for patients with erectile dysfunction

R. P. MacDonagh*, T. Porter, David Pontin, P. Ewings

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose; To identify the important issues which have an impact on the quality of life (QoL) of men suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED) and to generate a new ED-specific QoL questionnaire ready to undergo further psychometric testing. Methods: QoL issues relating to ED were generated through in-depth quali-tative interviews of 29 patients, literature review and consultation with other healthcare professionals. The issues were formulated into a questionnaire, which was piloted using 40 patients with ED and subsequently refined using well-established principles of questionnaire development. Results: The qualitative interviews revealed numerous psychosocial problems associated with ED, which were operationalised into a 40-item questionnaire. Pilot testing allowed the questionnaire to be reduced to a manageable 15-item final questionnaire while maintaining face and content validity and the potential to discriminate between men with varying degrees of affected QoL. This questionnaire had a Cronbach's α of 0.94. Conclusions: A new ED-specific QoL measure has been developed using appropriate methodology. Qualitative techniques identified a range of psychosocial morbidity in men with ED, leading to a simple but robust instrument with face and content validity. This questionnaire, Erectile Dysfunction - Effect on quality of life (ED-EQoL), has now undergone psychometric testing for validity and reliability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)361-368
Number of pages8
JournalQuality of Life Research
Volume13
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2004
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Qualitative methodology
  • Quality of life

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