Development and Validation of a Survey to Assess Sexual Health in Female Partners of Patients with Prostate Cancer

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and treatment can have a significant negative impact on sexual health, affecting patients and their partners; however, the impact on partners is insufficiently addressed in current practice.

Objective: We describe the development and validation of an instrument to measure sexual health in female partners of patients with PCa.

Design, setting, and participants: Questions assessing sexual health were developed through a literature review, two qualitative studies, and an expert consensus process. Candidate survey items were tested through cognitive interviews and used to iteratively refine the questionnaire.

Intervention: The final questionnaire was tested in a validation study among 200 female partners.

Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: We performed an exploratory factor analysis, followed by an analysis for internal validity, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity.

Results and limitations: An initial set of 32 items was developed and refined through cognitive interviews. The resulting 27-item questionnaire was tested among 200 female partners of patients with PCa from across the USA. The exploratory factor analysis eliminated eight items and revealed seven key factors: (1) distress/satisfaction, (2) loss of connection as a couple, (3) active communication, (4) discomfort with communication, (5) frustration with sexual counseling, (6) expansion of sexual repertoire, and (7) nonpenetrative sexual activity. The overall scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (ordinal alpha 0.94) and test-retest reliability (0.89). Strengths of the study include development and evaluation of the first questionnaire to evaluate sexual quality of life among female partners of patients with PCa. However, additional work is needed to assess sexual health and quality of life among male and nonbinary partners.

Conclusions: We developed a new instrument, the Sexual Concerns In Partners of Patients with Prostate cancer (SCIPPP-F), and found it to be valid in a diverse sample of female partners across the USA.

Patient summary: Our new instrument can be used to characterize sexual health among female partners of patients with prostate cancer.