Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40833451›Full record

ArticleJournal of patient-reported outcomes2025

Development and content validation of the Long COVID/ post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument.

Dale Chandler, Benjamin Abramoff, Candace Bramson, Joseph C Cappelleri, Aishwarya Chohan, Magdalena Harrington, Hiba Jamal, Jillian Lusk, Iyar Mazar, Roger Paredes and 4 more

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of patient-reported outcomes, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Dale ChandlerPatient-Centered Outcomes, Adelphi Values Ltd, Bollington, UK.
Benjamin AbramoffUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
Candace BramsonPfizer Inc, New York, USA.
Joseph C CappelleriPfizer Inc, New York, USA.
Aishwarya ChohanPatient-Centered Outcomes, Adelphi Values Ltd, Bollington, UK.
Magdalena HarringtonPfizer Inc, New York, USA.
Hiba JamalPatient-Centered Outcomes, Adelphi Values Ltd, Bollington, UK.
Jillian LuskPfizer Inc, New York, USA.
Iyar MazarPfizer Inc, New York, USA.
Roger ParedesDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol and irsiCaixa, Badalona, Spain.
Sophi TatlockPatient-Centered Outcomes, Adelphi Values Ltd, Bollington, UK.
Andrew UstianowskiRegional Infectious Diseases Unit, North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester, UK.
Edward WeinsteinPfizer Inc, New York, USA.
Ruth MokgokongPfizer Ltd, Tadworth, UK. ruth.mokgokong@pfizer.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6278-4969

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPost-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) or Long COVID is a post-viral complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection, causing ongoing symptoms and impaired function over a prolonged period of time. There is limited understanding of how the signs and symptoms of Long COVID/PASC affect patients' lives and how to measure them, which is essential when developing care strategies. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the content validity for a novel patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument in Long COVID/PASC through qualitative research, which was informed by the patient experience of Long COVID/PASC and both patient and clinician input.

methodsA review of literature and PRO instruments developed for Long COVID/PASC identified measurement gaps for the context of use (i.e., weekly assessment of signs/symptoms in clinical trial research). This informed the development of the preliminary Long COVID/PASC PRO instrument, which was tested via patient interviews (combined concept elicitation and cognitive debriefing) to align with regulatory standards, and discussions with clinical experts were conducted to provide clinical insights. The final instrument was modified based on this input to further promote its content validity.

resultsThirty participants were interviewed about their Long COVID/PASC experiences. Participants most frequently reported experiencing tiredness after physical activity (n = 29/30; 97%), general tiredness (n = 28/30; 93%), shortness of breath (n = 25/30; 83%), cough (n = 23/30; 77%) and muscle/body aches (n = 23/30; 77%). All participants reported that Long COVID/PASC had an impact on their health-related quality of life. Almost all (n = 27/28; 96%) sign/symptom concepts were reported in the first three sets of interviews suggesting conceptual saturation was achieved. Items, response options and the recall period of the preliminary Long COVID/PASC PRO instrument were understood as intended (≥ 90%) and relevant to most participants across both rounds (≥ 47%). Modifications were made to the instrument following patient input, resulting in the 18-item Long COVID/PASC instrument. Clinician input (n = 3) corroborated participant interview results, supporting the content validity of the Long COVID/PASC PRO instrument.

conclusionThe Long COVID/PASC PRO instrument has been developed in line with regulatory standards and the qualitative evidence demonstrated strong content validity in a Long COVID/PASC population. Research to evaluate psychometric properties will provide further evidence of the instrument's measurement properties.

Indexed as

COVID-19Patient Reported Outcome MeasuresAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeQualitative ResearchQuality of LifeReproducibility of ResultsSARS-CoV-2Surveys and QuestionnairesCognitive debriefing (CD)Concept elicitation (CE)Content validityLong COVIDPatient-reported outcome (PRO)Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19Qualitative interviews

Identifiers

PMID40833451
PMCPMC12367622

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.