Chest
Clinical InvestigationsCystic FibrosisQuestions on Life Satisfaction for Adolescents and Adults With Cystic Fibrosis: Development of a Disease-Specific Questionnaire
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
The development of the FLZM-CF was an iterative process. After item generation, a preliminary version of the scale was tested. Some items were reworded to improve intelligibility, and the scale was reduced to a 16-item version. Then this version was tested in a study with 243 adolescents and adults with CF. The final 9-item version is the result of further item reduction and psychometric testing of the 16-item version. The development of the questionnaire was done in German, the final version
Results
The number of missing data were far below 1%, indicating good practicability and intelligibility of the questionnaire. The distribution of the weighted scores of the 16-item version indicated no relevant floor or ceiling effects. Therefore, none of the original items had to be excluded from the scale. Furthermore, item intercorrelations between the weighted scores of the FLZM-CF and the weighted scores of the generic FLZM scales were analyzed. One item (present course of the disease) was
Discussion
As a combination of generic and disease-specific modules, the FLZM allow a multidimensional assessment of a patient's satisfaction with various domains of life in relation to their subjective importance. Eight domains of general life satisfaction, eight domains of general health-related satisfaction, and nine domains of CF-related life satisfaction can be integrated into a comprehensive profile of life satisfaction. The new disease-specific scale covers a broad range of physical and
Conclusion
In summary, the results of this study indicate good practicability, reliability and construct validity of the method, although further external validation is needed. In combination with the generic modules of the FLZM, the FLZM-CF is a comprehensive and brief instrument for evaluating patients' subjective perspectives on their lives. Software for the computer-assisted assessment with the FLZM is also available. This modification of the method increases the economy and practicability of QL
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