Reliability and validity of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12) among urological patients: A Malaysian study

Abstract

This present study was undertaken to validate the English version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in urological patients. Validity and reliability were studied in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and patients without LUTS. Reliability was evaluated using the test-retest method and internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Sensitivity to change was expressed as the effect size in the pre-intervention versus postintervention score in additional patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Internal consistency was excellent. A high degree of internal consistency was observed for each of the 12 items with Cronbach's alpha value of 0.37-0.79, while total scores was 0.79 in the population study. Test-retest correlation coefficient for the 12 items score were highly significant. Intraclass correlation coefficient was high (0.35-0.79). It showed a high degree of sensitivity and specificity to the effects of treatment. A high degree of significant level between baseline and post-treatment scores were observed across all 12 items in the treatment cohort but not in the control group. The GHQ-12 is suitable, reliable, valid and sensitive to clinical change in urological disorders.

Effect of treating lower urinary tract symptoms on anxiety, depression and psychiatric morbidity: A one‐year study

“…Following treatment, the surgical group tended to be less anxious due to LUTS improvement, which has been noted in other studies. [21][22][23][24] Unsolved LUTS and bother caused by LUTS increased the trait anxiety in the medical group.…”

“…[18][19][20][21] The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) comprises of two scales: the transient state anxiety and the dispositional trait anxiety. The state anxiety and trait anxiety scales consist of 20 questions each describing how would one feel at a particular moment of time and how one generally feel, respectively.…”

“…17 International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) is used to assess urinary symptoms or LUTS. The IPSS is classified into mild (0-7), moderate (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19) and severe (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35).…”

Effects of music listening on preoperative state anxiety and physiological parameters in patients undergoing general surgery: a randomized quasi-experimental trial

“…STAI anxiety measurement is known to be good scientific evidence and it is noted as a standardized trial; the surveillance of this questionnaire was approximately estimated at 88% (LaMontagne, 1984). Also, high reliability and validity of the STAI was reported among urology patients (Quek et al, 2004). The STAI is appropriate for those who have at least a sixth-grade reading level (Spielberger et al, 1983).…”

Features of residency training and psychological distress among residents in a Nigerian teaching hospital

“…[9,10] Questions relating to anxiety, depression, social dysfunction and loss of self-esteem were included. A simple scoring method was applied, with 0 representing the ratings 'not at all' and 'about as much as usual' , and 1 representing 'more than usual' and 'strong feeling' .…”