Dataset Information

Adjusting for cross-cultural differences in computer-adaptive tests of quality of life.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Previous studies using the WHOQOL measures have demonstrated that the relationship between individual items and the underlying quality of life (QoL) construct may differ between cultures. If unaccounted for, these differing relationships can lead to measurement bias which, in turn, can undermine the reliability of results.

Methods

We used item response theory (IRT) to assess differential item functioning (DIF) in WHOQOL data from diverse language versions collected in UK, Zimbabwe, Russia, and India (total N?=?1332). Data were fitted to the partial credit 'Rasch' model. We used four item banks previously derived from the WHOQOL-100 measure, which provided excellent measurement for physical, psychological, social, and environmental quality of life domains (40 items overall). Cross-cultural differential item functioning was assessed using analysis of variance for item residuals and post hoc Tukey tests. Simulated computer-adaptive tests (CATs) were conducted to assess the efficiency and precision of the four items banks.

Results

Splitting item parameters by DIF results in four linked item banks without DIF or other breaches of IRT model assumptions. Simulated CATs were more precise and efficient than longer paper-based alternatives.

Discussion

Assessing differential item functioning using item response theory can identify measurement invariance between cultures which, if uncontrolled, may undermine accurate comparisons in computer-adaptive testing assessments of QoL. We demonstrate how compensating for DIF using item anchoring allowed data from all four countries to be compared on a common metric, thus facilitating assessments which were both sensitive to cultural nuance and comparable between countries.

SUBMITTER: Gibbons CJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5874271 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Adjusting for cross-cultural differences in computer-adaptive tests of quality of life.

Gibbons C J CJ Skevington S M SM

Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation 20171204 4

<h4>Purpose</h4>Previous studies using the WHOQOL measures have demonstrated that the relationship between individual items and the underlying quality of life (QoL) construct may differ between cultures. If unaccounted for, these differing relationships can lead to measurement bias which, in turn, can undermine the reliability of results.<h4>Methods</h4>We used item response theory (IRT) to assess differential item functioning (DIF) in WHOQOL data from diverse language versions collected in UK, ...[more]

PMID: 29204782

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundMeasuring the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of adolescents, including those with cerebral palsy (CP) (the major cause of childhood physical disability worldwide) in Bangladesh is pertinent although there is a dearth of validated instruments for assessing this concept. For application in a case-control study comparing HRQoL between adolescents with CP and peers without disability in Bangladesh (a typical low- and middle-income country) we cross-culturally translated and psychometrically tested KIDSCREEN-27.MethodsKIDSCREEN-27 was translated to Bengali using forward and backwards translation protocol and interviewer administered to adolescents with CP and their age and sex matched peers without disability. Primary caregivers were included for proxy-report. Sociodeomgraphic characterists and clinical information were extracted from the Bangladesh Cerebral Palsy Register (BCPR) and adolescent mental health was assessed using the Bengali version Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Feasibility, floor and ceiling effect, internal consistency, content and construct validity of KIDSCREEN-27 were tested.ResultsFeasibility, floor and ceiling effect and internal consistency of KIDSCREEN-27 was good for both self- and proxy-report questionnaires; nil missing scores except 'school environment' (11.0% to 74.7%) which correlated to rates of non-school attendance; floor and ceiling effect ≤10.4% except 'peers and social support' 23.4%; Cronbach's alpha 0.67 to 0.91. Instrument validity was strong; factor analysis reflected original instrument dimensions within one to three factors and difference in known groups was observed by CP and adolescent mental health (p < 0.05).ConclusionKIDSCREEN-27 successfully translated to Bengali and both the self and proxy-report questionnaires showed good psychometric properties indicating suitability for case-control assessment of HRQoL between adolescents with CP and peers without disability in Bangladesh.

Project description:BACKGROUND:In Malaysia, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease is high (9.1%). To date, no questionnaire that specifically assesses the health-related quality of life of patients with chronic kidney disease has been validated in Malaysia. Malay is the national language of Malaysia and spoken by the majority of its citizens. Therefore, the aim of our study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate the Malay Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36) among patients with chronic kidney disease. METHODS:The English version of the KDQOL-36 was translated according to international guidelines to Malay. Content validity was verified by an expert panel and piloted in five patients. Our instrument was then administered to patients with chronic kidney disease stage 1-3A and patients on hemodialysis at baseline and 4?weeks later. RESULTS:A total of 181/232 patients agreed to participate (response rate?=?78.0%). The majority were male (69.6%) with a median age of 51.0?years. Exploratory factor analysis found that the KDQOL-36 had three domains. All three domains showed low to moderate correlation (Spearman's Rho?=?0.297-0.610) with the Europe Quality of Life Five Dimension questionnaire. Patients on hemodialysis (physical component summary?=?39.8; mental component summary?=?53.1;burden of disease?=?37.5; symptoms/burden list?=?75.0; effects of kidney disease on daily life?=?68.8) had significantly worse quality of life than patients with chronic kidney disease stage 1-3A (physical component summary?=?49.9; mental component summary?=?52.9; burden of disease?=?75.0; symptoms/burden list?=?85.4; effects of kidney disease on daily life?=?93.8, p?<?0.001) except for the mental component summary. This indicates that the Malay KDQOL-36 has achieved adequate known-groups validity. Cronbach alpha ranged from 0.872-0.901, indicating adequate internal consistency. At retest, intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from 0.584-0.902, indicating moderate to good correlation. CONCLUSION:The Malay Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 was found to be a valid and reliable tool to assess the quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease. This tool can now be used to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with chronic kidney disease, as HRQOL is an important independent predictor of patient outcome.

Project description:BackgroundThe QUALIOST was designed for use with the SF-36 to measure established osteoporosis-specific quality of life (QoL). The reliability (internal consistency and test-retest) and validity of the questionnaire were established in a stand-alone psychometric validation study. The objective of this paper is to provide additional information on the instrument's responsiveness using clinical trial data, along with the reliability and validity of translated versions.MethodsThe Spinal Osteoporosis Therapeutic Intervention (SOTI) was an international clinical trial comparing strontium ranelate to placebo on the occurrence of new vertebral fracture in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. QoL was a secondary endpoint, assessed using the SF-36 and QUALIOST at baseline and every six months, with the main analysis at 3-year follow-up. Questionnaire acceptability, analysis of the hypothesised structure, internal consistency reliability and responsiveness to clinical change over time were assessed at the 3-year follow up.Results1592 patients from 11 countries completed at least one QoL questionnaire. The psychometric properties of the questionnaires were assessed on cross-sectional (N = 1486) and longitudinal (N = 1288) data. Item discriminant validity of the QUALIOST was excellent, as was item convergent validity, with 100% of item-scale correlations being above the 0.40 level. Internal consistency reliability was also extremely good, with high Cronbach's alpha scores above the 0.70 benchmark. Responsiveness results were consistent for all QUALIOST scores, indicating that greater decreases in QoL corresponded to greater numbers of fractures experienced. QUALIOST scores also differed according to the type of fracture suffered. This was demonstrated by increased effect sizes for more severe vertebral fractures (clinical vertebral and painful vertebral). In comparing responsiveness, the QUALIOST scores were generally more consistent than those of the SF-36. Most notably, the QUALIOST was more responsive with regard to painful vertebral fractures than the SF-36.ConclusionThe QUALIOST is a reliable and valid tool for measuring QoL in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. Being available in several validated language versions, it is ready to be used in a variety of settings, including international clinical trials.

Project description:Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and other technologies have been offering evidence and insights showing that altered brain functional networks are associated with neurological illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease. Exploring brain networks of clinical populations compared to those of controls would be a key inquiry to reveal underlying neurological processes related to such illnesses. For such a purpose, group-level inference is a necessary first step in order to establish whether there are any genuinely disrupted brain subnetworks. Such an analysis is also challenging due to the high dimensionality of the parameters in a network model and high noise levels in neuroimaging data. We are still in the early stage of method development as highlighted by Varoquaux and Craddock (2013) that "there is currently no unique solution, but a spectrum of related methods and analytical strategies" to learn and compare brain connectivity. In practice the important issue of how to choose several critical parameters in estimating a network, such as what association measure to use and what is the sparsity of the estimated network, has not been carefully addressed, largely because the answers are unknown yet. For example, even though the choice of tuning parameters in model estimation has been extensively discussed in the literature, as to be shown here, an optimal choice of a parameter for network estimation may not be optimal in the current context of hypothesis testing. Arbitrarily choosing or mis-specifying such parameters may lead to extremely low-powered tests. Here we develop highly adaptive tests to detect group differences in brain connectivity while accounting for unknown optimal choices of some tuning parameters. The proposed tests combine statistical evidence against a null hypothesis from multiple sources across a range of plausible tuning parameter values reflecting uncertainty with the unknown truth. These highly adaptive tests are not only easy to use, but also high-powered robustly across various scenarios. The usage and advantages of these novel tests are demonstrated on an Alzheimer's disease dataset and simulated data.

Project description:Cirrhotic patients have an impaired health-related quality of life (HRQOL), which is usually analysed using static paper-pencil questionnaires. The Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) computerised adaptive testing (CAT) are flexible, freely available, noncopyrighted, HRQOL instruments with US-based norms across 11 domains. CAT presents five to seven questions/domain depending on the patient's response, from large validated question banks. This provides brevity and precision equivalent to the entire question bank.To evaluate PROMIS CAT tools against 'legacy instruments' for cirrhotics and their informal caregivers.A total of 200 subjects: 100 cirrhotics (70 men, 53% decompensated) and 100 caregivers were administered the PROMIS and legacy instruments [Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), Beck depression/anxiety inventories, Pittsburgh Sleep-Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness scale (ESS)] concurrently. Both legacy and PROMIS results for patients were compared with caregivers and US norms. These were also compared between compensated and decompensated patients. Preference for SIP or PROMIS was inquired of a selected group (n = 70, 50% patients). Test - retest reliability was assessed in another group of 20 patients.Patients had significant impairment on all PROMIS domains apart from anger and anxiety compared with caregivers and US norms (P < 0.02 to <0.0001). Decompensated patients had significantly worse sleep, pain, social and physical function scores compared with compensated ones, similar to legacy instruments. There was a statistically significant correlation between PROMIS and their corresponding legacy instruments. The majority (71%) preferred PROMIS over SIP. PROMIS tools had significant test - retest reliability (ICC range 0.759-0.985) when administered 12 ± 6 days apart.PROMIS computerised adaptive testing tools had significant concurrent and discriminant validity, test - retest reliability and subject preference for assessing HRQOL in cirrhotic patients.

Dataset Information

Adjusting for cross-cultural differences in computer-adaptive tests of quality of life.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Adjusting for cross-cultural differences in computer-adaptive tests of quality of life.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets