The suitability of the WHOQOL-BREF for Canadian and Norwegian older adults.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kalfoss MH
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5546379 | biostudies-other | 2008 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:BackgroundQuality of life measurement is a useful addition to measurement of health outcomes in evaluation of the benefits of many health and welfare interventions. The WHOQOL-BREF measures quality of life from a broad multi-dimensional perspective but was not used in Malawi. The objective of this study was to translate the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire into the main local language of Malawi: Chichewa; and to validate it quantitatively with respect to internal consistency, domain structure, and discriminant validity for this context.MethodsWHO-mandated guidelines were followed for translation, adaptation, pre-testing (focus groups), piloting (patient interviews) and data coding. Analyses using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression were undertaken to investigate the validity of the WHOQOL-BREF in the ways described above. Additional regression analyses examined the impact of socio-demographic variables on the domain scores.Results309 respondents completed the questionnaire (with >98% response rates for all questions except Q21 (sex life)). 259 were sick with a variety of health problems, and 50 were considered healthy. All domains showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > =0.7) with all item scores also most highly correlated with the scores of their assigned domain. All domain scores varied by health problem, and more depressed respondents had significantly lower scores in all domains than those less depressed. Domain scores and their associations with socio-demographic variables are presented and discussed.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that the new Chichewa WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire is acceptable and comprehensible to respondents in Malawi. The questionnaire also passed a number of tests of the validity of its psychometric properties. In the pilot population we found that older age was associated with lower Physical domain scores. Conversely, higher levels of educational attainment were found to be associated with higher quality of life in all domains except for Social Relationships. Respondents living as married or single were found to have higher quality of life in the Physical, Psychological and Social domains, and those who were widowed lower Physical quality of life.
| S-EPMC3483688 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:The worries of next of kin about their older loved ones in nursing homes can be extensive and can adversely affect their subjective experiences of their own physical, mental and social well-being. It is thus of utmost importance to measure the quality of life of next of kin in a valid and reliable way. METHODS:The design is a cross-sectional study with psychometric evaluation based on classical test theory in preparation for a planned educational intervention study on palliative care. An abbreviated version of the World Health Organization's quality-of-life self-assessment instrument WHOQOL, the Swedish WHOQOL-BREF, was completed by 254 next of kin of older persons in 30 nursing homes. Data quality was assessed via the mean, median, item response, missing values, and floor and ceiling effects. Reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha and corrected item-total correlations. Construct validity was estimated by Spearman's rank correlation, and model fit was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS:The rate of missing data was low (less than 2%). Ceiling effects ranged from 11 to 43% and were above 20% for 21 of 24 items. The corrected item-total correlations varied between 0.35 and 0.68 and were thus well above the lower limit of 0.30. Cronbach's alpha was 0.83, indicating satisfactory internal consistency. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated a fair to close model fit (comparative fit index 0.93, root mean squared error of approximation 0.06). CONCLUSIONS:The findings suggest that the WHOQOL-BREF may constitute a reliable and valid measure of quality of life for use among next of kin to older persons in nursing homes. When interpreting the results, it is important to assess the ceiling effect, as it may restrict the ability of the WHOQOL-BREF to detect true positive changes in quality of life over time. TRIAL REGISTRATION:NCT02708498.
| S-EPMC7168811 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The World Health Organization has developed a brief generic questionnaire to assess quality of life, the WHOQOL-BREF. It has been studied in diverse groups, but not specifically in older people. The purpose of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the French version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire in healthy older people and to compare the mean profiles of participants with the mean profile obtained in the international validation study of the WHOQOL-BREF. Of the total sample of 262 Swiss French speaking older participants, 122 completed a retest after 2 weeks. The WHOQOL-BREF items demonstrated high test-retest reliability and validity. The WHOQOL-BREF items were differentially related to physical and mental health measures (SF-12 components, morbidity, and depression), thereby demonstrating convergent and discriminant validity. Compared to the international validation sample of the WHOQOL-BREF, participants of the present study reported higher QOL on 22 of the 26 items. A comparison of item profiles between male and female participants revealed gender differences for two items only (social support and negative feelings). We conclude that the psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-BREF items in older adults are good. To consider the 24 specific facets that are assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF appropriately, we recommend using item profiles on the individual and the sample level.
| S-EPMC5546259 | biostudies-other
Project description:ObjectivesThe abbreviated World Health Organisation Quality of Life tool (WHOQOL-BREF) is a short-form quality of life (QoL) assessment commonly used worldwide in both healthy and ill populations. Normative data for the Australian general population are limited. The objective of this study was to present normative data for the WHOQOL-BREF based on a general population sample. A secondary aim was to explore sociodemographic factors related to QoL.DesignPopulation-based cross-sectional study.Participants929 men and 830 women aged 24-94 years participating in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study.Outcome measuresThe 26-item WHOQOL-BREF.ResultsMeans and SD for each domain are presented by age group and sex. Percentile scores were also generated. Mean scores for WHOQOL-BREF domains were 74.52 (SD=16.22) for physical health, 72.07 (SD=15.35) for psychological, 72.87 (SD=18.78) for social relationships and 79.68 (SD=12.55) for environment. We identified significant associations between sociodemographic factors and WHOQOL-BREF domains. Notably, being married or in a relationship was associated with increased odds for high QoL across all four WHOQOL-BREF domains: physical health (women OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.36 to 4.44, p=0.003), psychological (men OR 2.07, 95% CI: 1.20 to 3.55, p=0.009; women OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.21 to 3.81, p=0.009), social relationships (men OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.29 to 4.04, p=0.005; women OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.42 to 5.41, p=0.003) and environment (women OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.80, p=0.019).ConclusionsThis study provides population norms for the WHOQOL-BREF based on a representative sample of Australian adults. Our results will be useful to researchers and clinicians who can use these data as a reference point for interpreting WHOQOL-BREF scores.
| S-EPMC10729265 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:The WHOQOL-BREF is a frequently used instrument for the assessment of health-related quality of life. Unlike other generic instruments used for the assessment of this construct, little is known about its properties in individuals with headache disorders. The present study examines the reliability and factorial validity of the WHOQOL-BREF in individuals with chronic headache residing in Austria. METHODS:Data from a representative population-based survey on 963 individuals with chronic headache surveyed between 2013 and 2015 was used. The factorial validity was examined by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Differential item functioning related to sex was analyzed using multiple indicators multiple causes models. RESULTS:Information on 239 men and 724 women with chronic headache was available. The four-factor, 24-item baseline model showed a moderate fit (RMSEA = 0.066; CFI = 0.868; TLI = 0.852; SRMR = 0.053), which improved significantly after the addition of six error covariances (RMSEA = 0.052; CFI = 0.920; TLI = 0.908; SRMR = 0.046). Sex-related differential item functioning was observed in two items of the environment factor, two items of the psychological health factor and two items of the physical health factor. CONCLUSIONS:After some modifications to the measurement model, the WHOQOL-BREF shows a satisfactory fit among individuals with chronic headache in Austria. Because of these modifications and the questionnaire's susceptibility for differential item functioning, a latent variable framework should be employed for the analysis. Future studies need to confirm these results for other language regions and should also examine different subtypes of headache.
| S-EPMC7333387 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The World Health Organisation Quality of Life (WHOQOL) questionnaires are widely used around the world and can claim strong cross-cultural validity due to their development in collaboration with international field centres. To enhance conceptual equivalence of quality of life across cultures, optional national items are often developed for use alongside the core instrument. The present study outlines the development of national items for the New Zealand WHOQOL-BREF. Focus groups with members of the community as well as health experts discussed what constitutes quality of life in their opinion. Based on themes extracted of aspects not contained in the existing WHOQOL instrument, 46 candidate items were generated and subsequently rated for their importance by a random sample of 585 individuals from the general population. Applying importance criteria reduced these items to 24, which were then sent to another large random sample (n = 808) to be rated alongside the existing WHOQOL-BREF. A final set of five items met the criteria for national items. Confirmatory factor analysis identified four national items as belonging to the psychological domain of quality of life, and one item to the social domain. Rasch analysis validated these results and generated ordinal-to-interval conversion algorithms to allow use of parametric statistics for domain scores with and without national items.
| S-EPMC5094704 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAntiretroviral therapy has prolonged the lives of those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but the effects of chronic infection on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remain a concern. Numerous instruments have been developed to measure HRQoL, yet evidence of their cross-cultural equivalence and continued applicability is limited. We adapted the WHOQOL-HIV BREF to French and assessed its psychometric properties in a sample of community-dwelling adults living with HIV who were mostly virally suppressed.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study within the ANRS CO3 Aquitaine cohort from July 2018 to May 2019. Five hundred eighty-six participants were consecutively enrolled at their HIV-consultations and completed either a web-based (n = 406) or paper self-administered assessment (n = 180). The means and standard deviations for items and domains were computed and the presence of floor and ceiling effects assessed. We evaluated internal consistency by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficients per domain. We assessed construct validity by performing a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Concurrent, convergent and discriminant validity were assessed with Pearson's correlations and known-group validity was assessed according to CD4 cell count, viral load, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clinical categories for HIV, and hospitalization of more than 48 h within 2 years of the most recent consultation using one-way analysis of variance and independent t-tests.ResultsFive hundred eighty-six PLWH were included in this analysis. Their median age was 55; 73% were male; 85% were of French descent; 99% were on ART and 93% were virally suppressed. We found floor effects for one and ceiling effects for 11 items. Four of the six domains showed good internal consistency (α range: 0.63-0.79). CFA showed that the WHOQOL-HIV BREF's six-domain structure produced an acceptable fit (SRMR = 0.059; CFI = 0.834; RMSEA = 0.07; 90% CI: 0.06-0.08). It showed good concurrent, convergent and discriminant validity. There was some evidence of known-group validity. The personal beliefs domain had the highest score (15.04 ± 3.35) and the psychological health domain had the lowest (13.70 ± 2.78).ConclusionsThe French WHOQOL-HIV BREF has acceptable measurement properties. Its broad conceptualisation of HRQoL, going beyond physical and mental health, may be of particular value in our older, treatment-experienced and virally suppressed population.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03296202 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6zgOBArps ).
| S-EPMC7350695 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Rasch analysis was employed to investigate the psychometric properties of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and its shorter versions (EUROHIS-QOL-8 and WHOQOL-5) within the context of patients undergoing warfarin in Thailand. A group of 260 patients were recruited from three public hospitals and tasked with completing the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Rasch analysis showed that the WHOQOL-BREF, structured into four-domain subtests, achieved a commendable fit to the Rasch model (χ2[16] = 12.26, p = 0.73), met the criterion of unidimensionality (7.31% significant t-tests; lower bound confidence interval, 4.66), and demonstrated satisfactory reliability (PSI = 0.87). The adoption of a subtest approach facilitated an acceptable fit to the Rasch model for each domain of the WHOQOL-BREF, except for the social domain. However, the presence of local dependency of the three-item social domain was detected, so the reliability was not reported. The WHOQOL-5 proved to be unidimensional, fitting the Rasch model acceptably, and had satisfactory reliability. Conversely, the EUROHIS-QOL-8 presented local dependency; thus, reliability was not reported. Consequently, the WHOQOL-BREF in its four-domain subtests is recommended for pre- and post-HRQoL measurements, whereas the WHOQOL-5 can effectively measure HRQoL levels in between-group analyses.
| S-EPMC11374793 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Very less is known about health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among patients with kidney diseases in Nepal. This study examined HRQOL among haemodialysis and kidney transplant recipients in Nepal. METHODS:The Nepali version of World Health Organization Quality of Life Instruments -(WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire was administered using face to face interviews among end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, from two large national referral centers in Nepal. The differences in socio-demographic characteristics among ESRD patients were examined using the Chi-square test. The group differences in quality of life (QOL) were examined using the Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS:Of the 161 participants, 92 (57.1%) were renal transplant recipients and 69 (42.9%) patients were on maintenance haemodialysis. Hypertension (70.9%) was the most common co-morbidity among ESRD patients. Haemodialysis patients scored significantly lower than the transplant recipients in all four domains as well as in overall perception of quality of life and general health. Ethnicity (p?=?0.020), socio-economic status (p?<?0.001), educational status (p?<?0.001) and employment status (p?=?0.009) were significantly associated with the overall QOL in ESRD patients. Across patient groups, educational status (p?=?0.012) was positively associated with QOL in dialysis patients, while urban residence (p?=?0.023), higher socio-economic status (p?<?0.001), higher educational status (p?=?0.004) and diabetes status (p?=?0.010) were significantly associated with better QOL in transplant recipients. CONCLUSION:The overall QOL of the renal transplant recipients was higher than that of the patients on maintenance haemodialysis; this was true in all four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF. ESRD patients with low HRQOL could benefit from targeted risk modification intervention.
| S-EPMC7552453 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is rising at a rapid rate worldwide. As a chronic, incurable metabolic disease, diabetes affects a person’s life in all ways. Studies thus far have focused on the impact of diabetes on the physical and mental health of persons affected by the quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to explore the whole range of QoL deficits using the World Health Organization Quality of Life brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) in type-2 diabetic patients. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out among individuals aged at or above 15 years with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Patients with prior mental health illness and unwillingness to give consent were excluded. A pretested structured questionnaire including the 26-item WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used for face-to-face interviews. Appropriate ethical measures were ensured. All statistical analyses were carried out using the statistical software STATA (Version 16.1). Graphs were created using R (Version 4.0.0). Results A total of 500 T2 DM patients with a mean age of 55.8 ± 13.2 years (± SD) and a female proportion of 50.8% were included. Overall, 22.2% of participants rated their QoL as poor, and 25% were dissatisfied with their health (as assessed by questions 1 and 2 of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire). More than half (54% and 51.2%, respectively) had an average evaluation of their QoL and health. The QoL scores were below average, with mean scores (± SD) for the physical health, psychological, social relationship, and environmental domains of 37.2 ± 20.5, 44.2 ± 21.0, 39.6 ± 23.2, and 41.6 ± 19.5, respectively. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the patient’s level of education and monthly family income were significant positive modifiers and that complications (nephropathy, retinopathy, and peripheral artery disease) were significant negative determinants of the QoL score in different domains. Conclusion This study found the overall quality of life among T2DM patients below average. Health authorities and clinicians should take these findings into account and incorporate necessary measures to ameliorate negative modifiers of the quality of life of sufferers. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12902-022-01072-w.
| S-EPMC9206302 | biostudies-literature