Reliability of the questionnaire for verifying stroke-free status

James F. Meschia, Marc A. Lojacono, Mary J. Miller, Thomas G. Brott, Elizabeth J. Atkinson, Peter C. O'Brien

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The Questionnaire for Verifying Stroke-Free Status (QVSS) is a practical instrument for confirming absence of previous symptomatic stroke or transient ischemic attack in control subjects participating in stroke research. Methods: We tested reliability of telephone administration of the QVSS in stroke patients and healthy volunteers aged ≥50 years. For intrarater reliability, one interviewer administered the QVSS twice to the same subjects 8 weeks apart (115 subjects). For interrater reliability, one interviewer administered the QVSS and a different interviewer readministered the QVSS 8 weeks later (107 subjects). Both interviewer and interviewee were masked to responses from the first interview. Results: Intrarater agreement for overall classification of stroke-free status was 0.90 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.82-0.94], with a κ of 0.78 (95% CI, 0.67-0.90). Interrater agreement for overall classification was 0.94 (95% CI, 0.88-0.98), with a κ of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.80-0.97). Conclusion: The QVSS is a reliable instrument for telephone interviews in stroke research when applied to adult populations without severe deficits of cognition or verbal communication.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)218-223
Number of pages6
JournalCerebrovascular Diseases
Volume17
Issue number2-3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2004

Keywords

  • Questionnaire, reliability
  • Stroke
  • Telephone survey
  • Transient ischemic attack

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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