Vulvar quality of life index (VQLI) - A simple tool to measure quality of life in patients with vulvar disease

Rebecca Bronwyn Saunderson; Victoria Harris; Rudy Yeh; Kylie-Ann Mallitt; Gayle Fischer

doi:10.1111/ajd.13235

Vulvar quality of life index (VQLI) - A simple tool to measure quality of life in patients with vulvar disease

Australas J Dermatol. 2020 May;61(2):152-157. doi: 10.1111/ajd.13235. Epub 2020 Jan 27.

Authors

Rebecca Bronwyn Saunderson^{1

2}, Victoria Harris³, Rudy Yeh³, Kylie-Ann Mallitt⁴, Gayle Fischer^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
² University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³ Department of Dermatology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 31984477
DOI: 10.1111/ajd.13235

Abstract

Background/objectives: Vulvar disease leads to significant disease burden and reduced quality of life (QOL). However, vulvar disease-specific instruments to measure QOL are lacking. We developed the Vulvar Quality of Life Index (VQLI) to comprehensively and reproducibly assess symptomatic, psychosexual and physical aspects of vulvar disease.

Methods: The VQLI was inferred from a review of the literature regarding QOL of vulvar disease, and responses from a cohort of patients attending specialist clinics. Seven domains and a 15-item questionnaire were developed. This was tested and optimised prior to validation on 248 women, using a control group as a baseline. The VQLI was further tested on 157 women, and the total VQLI score was compared to a self-determined Likert global score on how vulvar disease had impacted their overall health.

Results: The VQLI had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, 0.93), and test-retest reliability showed that 9/15 questions had a substantial weighted kappa value of 0.5 or above, with good intraclass correlation coefficient (0.88; CI 0.8-0.93). Spearman correlations were consistently positive. Further testing on 157 women demonstrated a significant relationship between the total VQLI score and the effect of vulvar disease on overall health, with high levels of the impact of vulvar disease on overall health associated with high total VQLI score (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: The VQLI is a validated, fast and reliable tool to measure the global impact of vulvar disease on QOL and can be used to monitor response to treatment or in a research setting.

Keywords: VQLI; quality of life; vulvar disease.

Publication types

Validation Study

MeSH terms

Adult
Cost of Illness*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Outcome Assessment, Health Care
Psychometrics
Quality of Life / psychology*
Reproducibility of Results
Severity of Illness Index*
Surveys and Questionnaires / standards*
Vulvar Diseases / psychology*