Measuring quality of life in recurrent genital herpes

Genital herpes is an episodic viral infection that affects millions of people worldwide. The adverse effects of recurrent genital herpes (RGH) relate not only to the clinical manifestations of the illness but also to the social stigma surrounding it. The paper describes the development and testing of a quality of life instrument specific to RGH patients. The content of the measure is derived from interviews with affected individuals and the items are expressed in the patients' own words. The measure is shown to be reliable, consistent and valid. Conceptually equivalent versions of the measure are being developed for the major European countries and the US.