Table 1.

Example Patient Explanations of Response Options by Attribute and Adverse Event (N = 127)

		Patient Definition of Response
Attribute	Symptomatic Adverse Event	(X − 1)	(X)	(X + 1)
Severity	Pain	Moderate—“when you are in pain and it hurts ‘bad, bad’”	Severe—“when you are in pain and it’s getting worse”	Very severe—“when you are in pain and it doesn’t stop and it hurts a lot”
Severity	Problems with concentration	Mild—“able to get the task done but may take more time to focus”	Moderate—“takes even more time to get a task done”	Severe—“unable to accomplish a task”
Severity	Shortness of breath	Mild—“breathe through the nose only, at a faster pace”	Moderate—“need to breathe through the nose and mouth”	Severe—“fainting or passing out due to the inability to catch a breath”
Severity	Felt like nothing could cheer you up	None—“not there”	Mild—“does not feel if it is a reaction”	Moderate—“can recognize it and realize it is a problem”
Frequency	Nausea	Occasionally—“every other day or so”	Frequently—“every day I felt some sort of nausea”	Almost constantly—“constantly experiencing nausea”
Frequency	Headache	Never—“never happens”	Rarely—“some time during the day”	Occasionally—“three or four times a week”
Frequency	Hot flashes	Never—“not once in the last week”	Rarely—“one or two times”	Occasionally—“every other day or so”
Interference	Arm or leg swelling	Somewhat—“interfering with 25%–50% of activities in a day”	Quite a bit—“interfering with 50%–75% of activities in a day”	Very much—“interfering with 75%–100% of activities in a day”
Interference	Fatigue	A little bit—“doesn’t interfere with daily activities much—wouldn’t put off gardening”	Somewhat—“would put off gardening but be able to do something less strenuous”	Quite a bit—“wouldn’t be able to do another activity that was more strenuous than gardening”
Interference	Frequent urination	A little bit—“I’m aware of it and may have to compensate for it”	Somewhat—“you have to make more compensation but not interfering too much (don’t have to call in sick to work)”	Quite a bit—“having to miss work or social events”
Amount	Hair loss	Not at all—“none, not noticeable”	A little bit—“hair falling out naturally”	Somewhat—“noticing more than usual on the brush”

X refers to the patient response, with X − 1 representing the proximal lower response choice and X + 1 representing the proximal higher response choice on the response scale for a specific attribute.