Development and validation of an electronic version of the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire

Abstract

Background: As clinicians and pharmaceutical companies move from paper versions of health status questionnaires to electronic versions, it cannot be assumed that adaptations to other media will produce valid data. Aims: The aims of this study were to (1) adapt the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire [RQLQ(S); standardized version], for the Palm Treo 650, (2) test the device for ease and accuracy of understanding and (3) examine the validity of the electronic version by comparing it with the original paper version of the RQLQ(S). Methods: Seventy adults with current rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms completed the electronic and paper versions of the RQLQ(S). They were randomized to complete either the paper or the electronic version first. After a 2‐h break, they completed the other version. Results: Concordance between paper and electronic versions for the overall RQLQ(S) score was acceptable with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.95 and there was no evidence of bias (P = 0.13). Concordance for the seven individual domains ranged from 0.86 to 0.94. A small but significant bias was observed in the activity and sleep domains (P = 0.02). Completion times were quicker with paper (4.1 vs 4.9 min, P < 0.0001). About 51% of patients preferred electronic, 17% preferred paper and 31% had no preference. Conclusions: This electronic version of the RQLQ(S) was easy for patients to use and the concordance between paper and this version on the Palm Treo 650 provides evidence of the validity of this electronic version.

Is there any Correlation between the Results of Skin-Prick Test and the Severity of Symptoms in Allergic Rhinitis?

“…11 Many studies were performed to develop, standardize, and validate questionnaires for uses in clinical trials. 4,[12][13][14] We used a Turkish version of the RQLQ in our study. In another study, only weak-to-moderate correlations between the RQLQ and nasal symptom scores have been found.…”

Important research questions in allergy and related diseases: nonallergic rhinitis: a GA2LEN paper

“…However, there is no existing study on NAR. It is important to compare patients with allergic and NAR and to assess the importance of the social impact of NAR using generic (61) and disease-specific questionnaires on quality of life (such as the rhinitis-specific quality-of-life questionnaire) (62,63), sleep (58), school/work performance, allergy-specific work productivity and activity impairment (64).…”

Systematic literature review and evaluation of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) for asthma and related allergic diseases

“…The proposed research will identify currently available PROMs for use by patients with allergic disease and make recommendations on whether -and, if so, how -these can be adapted for use in clinical and research settings. There are wellestablished PROMs for eczema, asthma, and allergic rhinitis, urticaria, food and venom allergy; [15][16][17][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] a range of other less wellknown measures for various allergic conditions; 30,31 and generic measures such as the SF36 and EQ5D 32,33 are also used. We will build on existing work in this field.…”