DEVELOPMENT OF A POSTAL HEALTH-STATUS QUESTIONNAIRE TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE WITH DYSPEPSIA IN THE GENERAL-POPULATION

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.