[Validation of the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life questionnaire among Chilean older people]

Abstract

Background: The WHOQOL-BREF is a generic questionnaire to measure quality of life created by the Study Group on Quality of Life of the World Health Organization.

Aim: To adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the WHOQOL-BREF instrument in a group of Chilean older subjects living in Metropolitan Santiago.

Material and methods: A linguistic-cultural adaptation of the Spanish version of the WHOQOL-BREF was performed and tested in a pilot study. Subsequently, the modified scale was applied to a group of 1186 older women aged 72 ± 8 years and 334 men aged 72 ± 7 years. The psychometric properties such as internal consistency, item-total correlation of responses, and construct validity were evaluated. A confirmatory factor analysis was done to check if the dimensions described in the original version, were evaluated. Analyses were performed with STA-TA statistical software 10.0 and LISREL 8.50.

Results: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the dimensions physical health, psychological, social relationships and environment, described by the authors in their original description, were maintained. The instrument had a good internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha of 0.88 for the total scale and ranging from 0.70 to 0.79 in each of the dimensions.

Conclusions: The evaluated version of the WHOQOL-BREF has an acceptable reliability and validity, and suggests that it is suitable for the assessment of Quality of Life in elderly people in Chile.