Sexuality SVQ

The SVQ asks women who have been treated for gynaecological cancer about their sexual function and about the physical changes to the vagina that surgery and radiotherapy can cause. It was built as a supplement to the EORTC quality of life questionnaire, to cover ground that general cancer measures leave out.

Twenty-seven items are split into two parts. Twenty ask about the past four weeks — sexual desire, lubrication, vaginal size, pain with intercourse, orgasm, intimacy, satisfaction, issues with a partner, and body image. Seven more ask about change: whether each aspect is less now, the same, or more than it was before cancer. Some sections are answered only by women who are sexually active.

Licensing Notes: Distributed through ePROVIDE/Mapi Trust. The CSV's note "free by request" matches the registration-then-access model ePROVIDE uses; permission from the original developer is required for translation, as documented in the published adaptation studies.

Learn More: The two-part structure is what distinguishes the SVQ from a general sexual function measure. The seven change items — rated less now, the same, or more than before — capture what cancer treatment actually did, which a current-state questionnaire like the FSFI cannot. That makes the SVQ better suited to survivorship follow-up and worse suited to a single cross-sectional snapshot.