Psychometric Properties of the "Quality of Life in Life-Threatening Illness-Family Carer Version" (QOLLTI-F) in Persian-Speaking Carers of COVID-19 Patients

Armin Fereidouni; Abbas Ebadi; Maryam Rassouli; Seyed Morteza Hosseini; Mohsen Mollahadi; Ali Khorshidvand; Mohammad Javid; Behnam Ansari; Mohammad Saeid Rezaei; Salman Barasteh

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.838074

Psychometric Properties of the "Quality of Life in Life-Threatening Illness-Family Carer Version" (QOLLTI-F) in Persian-Speaking Carers of COVID-19 Patients

Front Psychol. 2022 May 3:13:838074. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.838074. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Armin Fereidouni^{1

2}, Abbas Ebadi^{3

4}, Maryam Rassouli⁵, Seyed Morteza Hosseini¹, Mohsen Mollahadi⁶, Ali Khorshidvand⁷, Mohammad Javid⁷, Behnam Ansari⁷, Mohammad Saeid Rezaei⁷, Salman Barasteh⁸

Affiliations

¹ Medicine, Quran and Hadith Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Perioperative Nursing, Faculty Member, Department of Operating Room Technology, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
³ Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Life Style Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Cancer Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ Exercise Physiology Research Center, Life Style Institute, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁷ Student Research Committee, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁸ Health Management Research Center, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Measuring family caregivers' quality of life plays a significant role in improving the quality, efficiency, development, and provision of efficient services for patients with COVID-19. As a result, evaluating the quality of life requires the use of valid and reliable measures that are culturally appropriate. This study was conducted to determine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Quality of Life in Life-Threatening Illness-Family Carer Version (QOLLTI - F) in patients with COVID-19.

Methods: This methodological study was carried out in 2021 at Baqiyatallah Hospital in Tehran. After gaining approval from the tool creator, the translation was carried out utilizing the forward-backward approach. Cognitive interviews with 10 family caregivers of COVID-19 patients were used to demonstrate face validity. Moreover, construct validity was identified by performing exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 251), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 200), and convergent validation using Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) questionnaire. For scale reliability, internal consistency and stability were performed using Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient and test-retest, respectively.

Results: 451 family caregivers of patients with COVID-19 were enrolled in this study. Three factors with a cumulative variance of 51.85% were extracted during EFA: (1) Caregiver's physical-emotional status, (2) Satisfaction with the situation, and (3) Caregiver's concerns. CFA showed that the model enjoyed a moderate to a good fit of information (RMSEA: 0.087; NFI: 0.98; CFI: 0.91; IFI: 0.91; GFI 0.89; standardized RMR: 0.070). A significant correlation was found between the Persian version of the ZBI and participants' total scores of QOLLTI - F v3 (r = -0.196, P = 0.000). Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient = 0.719 and ICC stability reliability = 0.71 of the questionnaire were confirmed.

Conclusion: The Persian version of the QOLLTI - F v3 is a valid and reliable scale that can measure family caregivers' quality of life during a Life-Threatening illness in patients with COVID-19. This instrument may be utilized in clinical trials and research to enhance the quality of life for family carers in Iranian society.

Keywords: family caregiver; measurement; psychometric properties; quality of life; reliability; scale; validity.