Validation of the WHOQOL-HIV BREF among HIV-infected patients in Taiwan

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the quality of life (QOL) of an individual is essentially defined as the subjective evaluation by such individuals of their own personal life embedded within the context of their culture and values. In the present study, we set out to examine the reliability and validity of the WHOQOL-HIV BREF, a newly-developed, multi-dimensional instrument comprising 31 items designed to assess the QOL of people in Taiwan infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We collected data on a total of 680 people in Taiwan infected with HIV; these study participants were found to have a mean age of 36.26±10.1 years. Based on our assessment of the psychometric (reliability and validity) properties of the WHOQOL-HIV BREF, we found that the internal consistency (Cronbach's α) ranged between 0.67 and 0.80 across the six domains of physical health, level of independence, psychological health, spirituality, social relations, and environmental health. We also found that the multi-dimensional instrument demonstrated good content, concurrent, and known-group validity, with the results of the construct validity further revealing that the original six-domain structure model was acceptable. The findings of the present study provide strong evidence in support of both the reliability and validity of the WHOQOL-HIV BREF for widespread use in the assessment of quality of life among HIV-infected patients in Taiwan, with the original factor structure of the instrument having been found to be appropriately valid for patients of a Chinese cultural background. We therefore contribute to the evidence on the cultural relevance of the WHOQOL-HIV BREF as a valid measure for cross-cultural comparative studies on QOL.

Assessing quality of life in middle-aged and older adults with HIV: psychometric testing of the WHOQOL-HIV-Bref

“…Similar effects in these items have been previously reported [13]. In line with prior validation studies [14,15], no floor and ceiling effects were observed on QoL domains.…”

“…Evidence for convergent validity is supported by significant correlations with the general facet of QoL and the self-reported perception of general health. This pattern of associations was also demonstrated in other validation studies [13,15], and the strength of the associations was comparable to the reported in those studies. Potential limitations imposed by the sample, the sampling strategy and the study design should be acknowledged.…”

“…This lower reliability could be attributed to its size (four items), and/or the items' content (spirituality, death, guilt, future). However, lower reliabilities in this domain have been also found cross-culturally [8,13,14].…”

“…The WHOQOL-HIV-Bref has been studied in an international sample [8], as well as in diverse countries [9,[12][13][14][15], but not specifically in individuals aged 50 years and older. As the instrument's psychometric properties in this population are still unknown, the aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-HIV-Bref in a sample of Portuguese middleaged and older adults with HIV.…”

Quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS: a cross-country comparison study of Finland and Portugal

“…Both questionnaires were validated in various cultural settings and proved to have acceptable psychometric properties (e.g., Hsiung et al, 2011;Pereira, Martins, Alves, & Canavarro, 2014;Reychler, Caty, Vincent, Billo, & Yombi, 2013;Zimpel & Fleck, 2007). According to Skevington and O'Connell (2003), the WHOQOL-HIV-Bref, compared to other HIV-specific instruments, is culturally more sensitive particularly regarding the methodology underlying its development, therefore enabling cross-cultural comparisons.…”