Development and pretesting of a set of symptom assessment tools in HIV: The HIV Symptom Experience Assessment Scale and the HIV Symptom Manageability Scale

Symptom experience has been conceptualized to be multidimensional, but few instruments for use with persons with HIV or AIDS reflect this. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure the multidimensional nature of symptom experience in persons living with HIV/AIDS. Two scales: the HIV Symptom Experience Assessment Scale (HIV-SEAS) and the HIV Symptom Manageability Scale (HIV-SMS) were developed and tested in 26 patients. Results indicated that the items of HIV-SEAS appropriately assess three dimensions, whereas HIV-SMS covers one dimension. Overall, the HIV-SEAS and the HIV-SMS are promising instruments. Further testing with a larger sample of participants has started.