Development and initial validation of a clinical measure to assess symptoms of post-stroke depression in the sequelae stage

Background The high incidence of post-stroke depression (PSD) in the sequelae stage seriously affects the prognosis of patients. Due to the lack of specific measurements, it hasn’t been effectively identified and intervened. This study aimed to develop a specific measure to assess symptoms of PSD in the sequelae stage. Methods The initial item pool was obtained through literature review, semi-structured interviews of stroke patients, and group discussions. Following a survey of healthcare professional, Delphi expert consultation, and a patient pre-survey, the items were evaluated and screened. Results The initial item pool included 50 items with 8 dimensions. The initial items pool was then screened through the evaluation of three panels of healthcare professionals (N = 30), experts (N = 18), and stroke patients in the sequelae stage (N = 30). After healthcare professional panel evaluation, 45 items were retained for Delphi expert panel evaluation. After two Delphi rounds, the item-level content validity index (I-CVI) of all items greater than 0.78, and the scale-level CVI /average was 0.941. A clinical measure for PSD in the sequelae stage with 8 dimensions (motivation, emotion, cognition, behavior, somatization, sleep, helplessness and guilt) and 33 items was formed. The participants panel didn’t modify the items. Conclusion This study developed a specific screening tool with good content validity to assess the symptoms of PSD in the sequelae stage.