OBJECTIVES: The Symptom Frequency and Bothersomeness (SFB) scale measures the frequency and bothersomeness of patient symptoms associated with urge urinary incontinence, mixed stress and urge urinary incontinence, and painful irritable bladder syndromes. The SFB has demonstrated good psychometric performance in mixed urinary incontinence. The objective of this study was to modify the original SFB instrument to measure symptom frequency and bothersomeness for stress urinary incontinence symptoms (SUI). METHODS: The SFB was revised to address symptoms specific to SUI based on a review of current literature, data from a previous pilot study, and consultation with a urologist. The Revised Version of the instrument (SFB-SUI) was piloted with eight patients diagnosed with pure SUI. Cognitive Debriefing was conduced to (1) assess the relevance and importance of the items to patients with SUI; (2) identify issues in formatting, language, or clarity; (3) assess construct validity; and (4) identify gaps in key content areas. RESULTS: All eight patients favorably appraised the format of the revised instrument. Patients reported that the SFB-SUI generally provided an accurate assessment of their condition and associated bothersomeness. Changes resulting from the interviews included the addition of one new item, the deletion of two items, and modification of both response scales. The final version of the SFB-SUI now consists of 8 items. CONCLUSION: Preliminary investigation of the SFB-SUI indicates that it is a two-subscale measure for symptom frequency and bothersomeness specific to stress urinary incontinence. Psychometric evaluation will be performed in subsequent clinical trials being conducted in stress urinary incontinence patients.