The treatment satisfaction scale: a multidimensional instrument for the assessment of treatment satisfaction for erectile dysfunction patients and their partners.

BACKGROUND

The development of the Treatment Satisfaction Scale (TSS) was previously reported (Kubin et al., 2004).

OBJECTIVE

This article describes the psychometric validation process and psychometric properties (e.g., reliability, validity, and responsiveness) of TSS.

METHODS

Initial patient and partner questionnaires were administered in a multi-national clinical trial. On the basis of exploratory analyses, iterative psychometric testing, and consideration of face validity and interpretability, the number of items was reduced, and six scales were constructed: "Satisfaction with Medication," "Ease with Erection," "Satisfaction with Erectile Function," "Pleasure from Sexual Activity," "Satisfaction with Orgasm," and either "Sexual Confidence" (for patients) or "Confidence in Completion" (for partners).

RESULTS

Multi-item scales had good internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity with the IIEF. All patient scales and most partner scales were valid in relation to clinical criteria, and all tested scales were responsive to change over time.

CONCLUSION

The TSS is brief, culturally valid, and the most comprehensive multidimensional measure of satisfaction with ED treatment for patients and their partners, and addresses some of the shortcomings of existing measures.