Background: Translations of instruments for measuring quality of life developed in certain, mostly more developed, parts of the world usually do not cover regionally specific aspects of health-related quality of life, even after transcultural validation. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a reliable questionnaire in Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin languages suitable for measuring health-related quality of life in adults.
Methods: The study was of a cross-sectional type, assessing the reliability and validity of a newly developed questionnaire for measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults residing in western Balkan states (WB-HRQoL). It was conducted on a sample of 489 adults from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro, with a mean age of 52.2±14.4 years and a male/female ratio of 195/294 (39.9%/60.1%).
Result: The definitive version of the WB-HRQoL scale with 19 items showed very good reliability, with Cronbach's alpha 0.905. The scale was temporally stable, and satisfactory results were obtained for divergent and convergent validity tests. Exploratory factorial analysis brought to the surface four domains of health-related quality of life, namely the physical, psychical, social, and environmental.
Conclusion: The WB-HRQoL scale is a reliable and valid generic instrument for measuring HRQoL that takes into account the cultural specifics of the western Balkan region.
Uvod: Prenos instrumentov za merjenje kakovosti življenja, razvitih v nekaterih, večinoma razvitejših delih sveta, zahteva transkulturno validacijo. Kljub temu tovrstni instrumenti običajno ne zajemajo regionalno specifičnih vidikov kakovosti življenja, povezanih z zdravjem. Namen študije je bil razviti in potrditi zanesljiv vprašalnik v srbskem, hrvaškem, bosansko-hrvaško-srbskem in črnogorskem jeziku, primeren za merjenje kakovosti življenja, povezanega z zdravjem odraslih.
Metode: V presečni študiji smo ocenili zanesljivost in veljavnost novo razvitega vprašalnika za merjenje kakovosti življenja, povezanega z zdravjem (HRQoL) pri odraslih, ki prebivajo v državah zahodnega Balkana (WB-HRQoL). V študijo smo vključili 489 odraslih iz Srbije, Hrvaške, Bosne in Hercegovine ter Črne gore s povprečno starostjo 52,2 ± 14,4 let in razmerjem med moškimi in ženskami 195 : 294 (39,9 : 60,1 %).
Rezultat: Dokončna različica lestvice WB-HRQoL z 19 elementi je pokazala zelo dobro zanesljivost (koeficient Cronbach alfa 0,905). Lestvica je bila stabilna, tako za divergentne kot konvergentne teste veljavnosti smo pridobili zadovoljive rezultate. Raziskovalna faktorska analiza je pokazala štiri področja zdravstvene kakovosti, povezane z zdravjem: fizično, psihično, socialno in okoljsko.
Zaključek: Lestvica WB-HRQoL je zanesljiv in veljaven generični instrument za merjenje HRQoL, ki upošteva kulturne posebnosti regije zahodnega Balkana.
Keywords: generic instrument; health-related quality of life; psychometric properties; questionnaire.
© 2021 National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia, published by Sciendo.