title: Self-reported information on the diagnosis of colorectal cancer was reliable but not necessarily valid     
creator: Lynch, Brigid M.
creator: Youlden, Danny R.
creator: Fritschi, Lin
creator: Newman, Beth M.
creator: Pakenham, Kenneth I.
creator: Leggett, Barbara
creator: Owen, Neville
creator: Aitken, Joanne F.
subject: 111799 Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified
subject: 111200 ONCOLOGY AND CARCINOGENESIS
subject: 111706 Epidemiology
subject: Test-retest reliability
subject: Validity
subject: Epidemiologic methods
subject: Self-report
subject: Colorectal cancer
subject: Colonoscopy
description: Objective: Self-report is commonly used in epidemiologic studies; however, few data exist on the reliability and validity of this method for eliciting information related to the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. We examined the testeretest reliability and validity of colorectal cancer  patients reporting on the process of their diagnosis.  Study Design and Setting: One hundred and sixteen participants completed two telephone interviews, 1 month apart, and 95 general practitioners (GPs) completed a written questionnaire, to elicit information relating to key elements of the process of diagnosis of colorectal  cancer.------  Results: Acute symptoms such as rectal bleeding had higher reliability and validity than more general symptoms. Colonoscopy was the most accurately recalled diagnostic test. Recall of diagnosis date, and date of colonoscopy, had high testeretest reliability. There were considerable  differences between dates of diagnostic tests given by participants and GPs, but there was no evidence of a bias in a particular direction. Accuracy of recall did not diminish as time from diagnosis increased.------  Conclusion: This study confirms that self-reported symptoms, tests, and dates in the colorectal cancer diagnostic pathway are generally reliable; however, the validity of reported symptoms and tests can be moderate to poor.  2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.  
publisher: Elsevier
date: 2008-05
type: Journal Article
relation: DOI:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.05.018
relation:    Lynch, Brigid M., Youlden, Danny R., Fritschi, Lin, Newman, Beth M., Pakenham, Kenneth I., Leggett, Barbara, Owen, Neville,  & Aitken, Joanne F.   (2008)    Self-reported information on the diagnosis of colorectal cancer was reliable but not necessarily valid.  Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 61(5), pp. 498-504.    
identifier: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/18562/
rights: Copyright 2008 Elsevier 
source: Faculty of Health; Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation