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Understanding and Assessing the Impact of End-Stage Renal Disease on Quality of Life

A Systematic Review of the Content Validity of Self-Administered Instruments Used to Assess Health-Related Quality of Life in End-Stage Renal Disease

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Abstract

Advances in healthcare, combined with an increasing number of adults with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), mean that there is a growing number of people now surviving on renal replacement therapy. The issue of health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) is becoming increasingly important in this area. For this reason, the content validity of various instruments used to measure HR-QOL in an ESRD population were explored.

Systematic searches of MEDLINE (1950–2009) were conducted using terms related to ESRD combined with terms associated with measuring HR-QOL. A total of 378 abstracts were identified, detailing the repeated use of six generic measures and four disease-specific measures. The generic HR-QOL measures discussed include the Medical Outcomes 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36), the EuroQOL 5 Dimension (EQ-5D), and the WHO QOL assessment (WHOQOL-BREF). The most frequently used disease-specific measure discussed is the Kidney Disease QOL instrument (KDQOL) and its derivative versions (KDQOL-SF, KDQOL-36).

The appropriateness of using the SF-36 in this population is challenged and recommendations include using the WHOQOL-BREF in cases when a generic instrument is required and the KDQOL-SF when a more disease-specific measurement is called for.

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Notes

  1. In this context, content validity is defined as “the degree to which elements of an assessment instrument are relevant to and representative of the targeted construct for a particular assessment purpose.”[4] (p. 238)

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Acknowledgments

No sources of funding were used to conduct this study or prepare this review. The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this review.

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Correspondence to Colin R. Martin.

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Glover, C., Banks, P., Carson, A. et al. Understanding and Assessing the Impact of End-Stage Renal Disease on Quality of Life. Patient-Patient-Centered-Outcome-Res 4, 19–30 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2165/11584650-000000000-00000

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