Abstract:

Objective To design a questionnaire on factors that affect diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome for physicians, and determine the retest reliability. Methods The questionnaire was completed after literature review, and 9 experts were invited to revise the questionnaire. Thirty-four physicians filled the questionnaire for pre-test and did it again for re-test 4 weeks later. Kappa value of each question of the questionnaire was calculated. Results Content validity and face validity were assured by experts. Kappa values were over 0.61 in all items, which achieved substantial level. Conclusion The questionnaire designed has fairly good reliability and validity, and can be used in investigation of irritable bowel syndrome for physicians.

Key words: irritable bowel syndrome, diagnosis, questionnaire