Introduction and hypothesis

Our aim was to translate then assess the reliability of the culturally adapted Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire, International Urogynecological Association (IUGA)-Revised (PISQ-IR) to assess sexual health among Arabic-speaking women with pelvic floor disorders.

Methods

PISQ-IR was modified to consider cultural characteristics of the Middle East. The final reliability study included 172 women with urinary incontinence (UI) and/or pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Participants completed the questionnaire twice: at enrollment and 2 weeks later.

Results

Among sexually active women, good internal consistency was observed for five of the six scales in the adapted instrument: Global Quality (Cronbach's coefficient α = 0.86), Condition Impact (α = 0.87), Desire (α = 0.82), Condition Specific (α = 0.74), and Partner Related (α = 0.75). Internal consistency was acceptable for the Arousal Orgasm subscale (α = 0.66). However, among not sexually active women, internal consistency was poor (α <0.6) for all four scales. Lin's concordance correlation coefficient measuring agreement between test and retest measurements [Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC); a value of 1 represents perfect agreement] ranged from 0.81 to 0.87 for the not sexually active scales, except for condition impact (CCC = 0.63.) For sexually active women, CCC was typically stronger, ranging from 0.85 to 0.96.

Conclusions

PISQ-IR questionnaire is easy to administer and reliable for assessing sexual function in sexually active Arabic women with POP and UI, but internal consistency is poor for Arabic women not sexually active.