Department of Psychology and University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2021 Aug;30(8):1192-1203. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2019.8262. Epub 2020 Oct 12.
Vulvovaginal symptoms (VVS), such as dyspareunia, dryness, and itching, are common following cancer treatment and can negatively impact sexual well-being, daily activities, mood, self-concept, and overall quality of life. Information about the impact of VVS after cancer treatment is scarce, mainly because of a dearth of validated measures. This study aimed to validate the Day-to-Day Impact of Vaginal Aging (DIVA) questionnaire, which assesses impact of VVS on women's lives, in a sample of women with cancer. Women diagnosed with cancer ( = 202) completed a questionnaire package, including the DIVA and measures of VVS, sexual function, and sexual distress. Data were collected as part of study evaluating an educational workshop. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine whether the factor structure of the DIVA in this population reflected that of the original validation study. CFA showed that the DIVA assesses VVS impact on four domains: activities of daily living, sexual functioning, emotional well-being, and self-concept and body image. All subscales showed excellent internal consistency reliability; however, item analyses indicated that items in the activities of daily living subscale showed very low means. Correlations with sexual function and distress provided evidence that the DIVA assesses impact of VVS. This is the first study aimed at validating the DIVA in women treated for cancer. Results provide evidence of the DIVA's utility in assessing the impact of VVS on four relevant domains. Although issues with certain scale items need to be resolved in future research, the DIVA provides opportunity to understand the impact of VVS after cancer treatment, to address unmet needs of cancer survivors.
阴道外阴症状（VVS），如性交困难、干燥和瘙痒，是癌症治疗后的常见问题，会对性健康、日常活动、情绪、自我概念和整体生活质量产生负面影响。关于癌症治疗后 VVS 影响的信息很少，主要是因为缺乏经过验证的测量方法。本研究旨在验证评估 VVS 对女性生活影响的“阴道老化日常影响（DIVA）”问卷，该问卷在癌症女性样本中进行了验证。诊断患有癌症的女性（n=202）完成了一份问卷包，包括 DIVA 以及 VVS、性功能和性困扰的测量。这些数据是作为评估教育性研讨会的研究的一部分收集的。验证性因素分析（CFA）用于检查该人群中 DIVA 的因子结构是否反映了原始验证研究的因子结构。CFA 表明，DIVA 评估 VVS 对四个领域的影响：日常生活活动、性功能、情绪健康和自我概念和身体形象。所有子量表都显示出极好的内部一致性可靠性；然而，项目分析表明日常生活活动子量表中的项目平均值非常低。与性功能和困扰的相关性提供了 DIVA 评估 VVS 影响的证据。这是第一项旨在验证癌症治疗后女性 DIVA 的研究。结果提供了证据表明，DIVA 可用于评估 VVS 对四个相关领域的影响。尽管未来的研究需要解决某些量表项目的问题，但 DIVA 为了解癌症治疗后 VVS 的影响提供了机会，并满足了癌症幸存者的未满足需求。
