Development of a postal health status questionnaire to identify people with dyspepsia in the general population

Abstract

Objective - To develop and validate a postal health status questionnaire which will identify people with dyspepsia in the general population.

Design - Validation against telephone interview and post re-post determination of reliability.

Setting - A general practice population in the north of England.

Subjects - A random sample of adults aged 20-69 years inclusive chosen from the general population.

Main outcome measures - Validity has been checked against telephone interview. A kappa statistic has been calculated for each question and clinical category.

Results - Compared with interview the questionnaire is a valid, comprehensive and easily understood record of symptomatology. the kappa statistics (mean value 0.92) indicate a very reliable questionnaire.

Conclusion - the questionnaire accurately and reliably identifies people with dyspeptic symptoms.

Key Words:

• dyspepsia
• epidemiology
• general population
• postal questionnaire