Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Validity and reliability of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire in assessing patients with fecal incontinence.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kwon, S; Visco, AG; Fitzgerald, MP; Ye, W; Whitehead, WE; Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN)
Published in: Dis Colon Rectum
February 2005

PURPOSE: To date, no measures of fecal incontinence severity or its impact on quality of life have been validated for telephone interview. This study was designed to 1) compare responses of a self-administered and a telephone-administered Fecal Incontinence Severity Index; 2) compare a self-administered Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale to the Manchester Health Questionnaire after modifying the latter for telephone administration and American English (Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire); 3) assess test-retest reliability of the telephone-administered Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire; and 4) assess the internal consistency of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire subscales. METHODS: Consecutive, English-speaking, nonpregnant females known to have fecal incontinence were invited to participate. Two validated paper questionnaires accompanied the letter informing them of the study: Fecal Incontinence Severity Index and Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale. Consenting patients were contacted for the initial telephone administration of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire, and patients who agreed to continue the study were contacted for a repeat telephone administration of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire two to four weeks after completing the first interview. RESULTS: Fifty-one females were invited to participate in the study; however, 13 declined or were ineligible. Thirty females, aged 49.3 +/- 10.3 years, returned self-administered questionnaires and completed the first telephone interview, and 21 completed a second telephone interview after an average interval of 23 days. The telephone-administered Fecal Incontinence Severity Index scores were significantly lower than those yielded by the self-administered Fecal Incontinence Severity Index, (6.19 vs. 9.85; P < 0.001), but the telephone and written administrations were significantly correlated (r = 0.5; P < 0.02). Correlations between the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire quality of life subscales and the paper Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life subscales ranged from 0.6 to 0.9 (median, r = 0.81). The correlation between the total score for the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life and the total score for the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire quality of life scales was 0.93 (P < 0.001). Test-retest reliability for the eight Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire subscales ranged from 0.55 to 0.98 (median, r = 0.83), and test-retest reliability for the two telephone administrations of the Fecal Incontinence Severity Index was r = 0.75. Cronbach's alpha for the eight Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire subscales ranged from 0.79 to 0.92 (median, alpha = 0.85). CONCLUSIONS: Telephone-administered versions of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire showed good-to-excellent validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. The telephone-administered Fecal Incontinence Severity Index yielded lower severity scores than the written Fecal Incontinence Severity Index; however, the difference (3.66 units) was not clinically significant.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Dis Colon Rectum

DOI

ISSN

0012-3706

Publication Date

February 2005

Volume

48

Issue

2

Start / End Page

323 / 331

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Telephone
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Surgery
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Quality of Life
  • Psychometrics
  • Middle Aged
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Humans
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Kwon, S., Visco, A. G., Fitzgerald, M. P., Ye, W., Whitehead, W. E., & Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). (2005). Validity and reliability of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire in assessing patients with fecal incontinence. Dis Colon Rectum, 48(2), 323–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10350-004-0899-y
Kwon, Soo, Anthony G. Visco, Mary P. Fitzgerald, Wen Ye, William E. Whitehead, and Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). “Validity and reliability of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire in assessing patients with fecal incontinence.Dis Colon Rectum 48, no. 2 (February 2005): 323–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10350-004-0899-y.
Kwon S, Visco AG, Fitzgerald MP, Ye W, Whitehead WE, Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). Validity and reliability of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire in assessing patients with fecal incontinence. Dis Colon Rectum. 2005 Feb;48(2):323–31.
Kwon, Soo, et al. “Validity and reliability of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire in assessing patients with fecal incontinence.Dis Colon Rectum, vol. 48, no. 2, Feb. 2005, pp. 323–31. Pubmed, doi:10.1007/s10350-004-0899-y.
Kwon S, Visco AG, Fitzgerald MP, Ye W, Whitehead WE, Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). Validity and reliability of the Modified Manchester Health Questionnaire in assessing patients with fecal incontinence. Dis Colon Rectum. 2005 Feb;48(2):323–331.
Journal cover image

Published In

Dis Colon Rectum

DOI

ISSN

0012-3706

Publication Date

February 2005

Volume

48

Issue

2

Start / End Page

323 / 331

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Telephone
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Surgery
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Quality of Life
  • Psychometrics
  • Middle Aged
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Humans