Validating the Persian version of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-specific quality of life-revised instrument

Motahareh Afrakhteh; Sara Esmaeili; Mohsen Shati; Seyedeh Fahimeh Shojaei; Maryam Bahadori; Babak Zamani; Mostafa  Almasi-Doghaee; Bahram  Haghi-Ashtiani

doi:10.18502/cjn.v20i1.6378

Motahareh Afrakhteh Department of Neurology, Firoozgar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Sara Esmaeili Department of Neurology, Firoozgar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mohsen Shati Mental Health Research Center, Social Injury Prevention Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Tehran
Seyedeh Fahimeh Shojaei Firoozgar Clinical Research and Development Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Bahadori Department of Neurology, Firoozgar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Babak Zamani Department of Neurology, Firoozgar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mostafa Almasi-Doghaee Department of Neurology, Firoozgar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Bahram Haghi-Ashtiani Department of Neurology, Firoozgar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/cjn.v20i1.6378

Keywords: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Quality of Life; Validity; Reliability

Abstract

Background: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis-Specific Quality of Life-Revised (ALSSQOL-R) encompasses 50 items which assess quality of life (QOL) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in six major domains. This study aims to translate the ALSSQOL-R into Persian and evaluate its reliability and validity among Iranian patients.

Methods: ALSSQOL-R was translated by the standard multi-step forward-backward method. Content validity was calculated using item content validity index (I-CVI). Three items in the “intimacy” domain were deleted considering Iranian culture. Cronbach’s alpha was used for all 6 dimensions to calculate the internal consistency reliability. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with one-month interval. Concurrent validity was measured by the validated version of 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire.

Results: Sixty-three patients with ALS were enrolled in the study. I-CVI was 70%, promoted to 85% after modifications (acceptable). Regarding internal consistency reliability, Cronbach’s alpha in all six domains was  0.70 and total Cronbach’s alpha was 0.89 which is assumed as good. In terms of test-retest reliability, ICC [95% confidence interval (CI)] was 0.91 (91%) and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was 0.90 (P < 0.001), all indicating an excellent reliability. The concurrent validity was established based on a strong correlation with SF-36 (r = 0.744, P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The findings show that the modified