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Psychometric Characteristics of Health-Related Quality-of-Life Questionnaires in Oropharyngeal Dysphagia

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Abstract

Dysphagia can have severe consequences for the patient’s health, influencing health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Sound psychometric properties of HRQoL questionnaires are a precondition for assessing the impact of dysphagia, the focus of this study, resulting in recommendations for the appropriate use of these questionnaires in both clinical practice and research contexts. We performed a systematic review starting with a search for and retrieval of all full-text articles on the development of HRQoL questionnaires related to oropharyngeal dysphagia and/or their psychometric validation from the electronic databases PubMed and Embase published up to June 2011. Psychometric properties were judged according to quality criteria proposed for health status questionnaires. Eight questionnaires were included in this study. Four are aimed solely at HRQoL in oropharyngeal dysphagia: the deglutition handicap index (DHI), dysphagia handicap index (DHI′), M.D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI), and SWAL-QOL, while the EDGQ, EORTC QLQ-STO 22, EORTC QLQ-OG 25 and EORTC QLQ-H&N35 focus on other primary diseases resulting in dysphagia. The psychometric properties of the DHI, DHI′, MDADI, and SWAL-QOL were evaluated. For appropriate applicability of HRQoL questionnaires, strong scores on the psychometric criteria face validity, criterion validity, and interpretability are prerequisites. The SWAL-QOL has the strongest ratings for these criteria, while the DHI′ is the most easy to apply given its 25 items and the use of a uniform scoring format. For optimal use of HRQoL questionnaires in diverse settings, it is necessary to combine psychometric and utility approaches.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Angelique A. Timmerman

  2. School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences, James Cook University, 43, James Cook Drive, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    Renée Speyer

  3. Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Renée Speyer & Bas J. Heijnen

  4. Emergency Medicine, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, Henri Dunantstraat 1, 5223 GZ, Den Bosch, The Netherlands

    Iris R. Klijn-Zwijnenberg

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  1. Angelique A. Timmerman
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  2. Renée Speyer
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  3. Bas J. Heijnen
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  4. Iris R. Klijn-Zwijnenberg
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Correspondence to Angelique A. Timmerman.

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Timmerman, A.A., Speyer, R., Heijnen, B.J. et al. Psychometric Characteristics of Health-Related Quality-of-Life Questionnaires in Oropharyngeal Dysphagia. Dysphagia 29, 183–198 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-013-9511-8

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