Assessment of reliability of the whoqol-bref questionnaire in a study of quality of life among adults, the economically active population of the Silesian agglomeration

• Published in: Przegląd epidemiologiczny Vol. 66; no. 3; p. 531
• Main Authors: Kowalska, Małgorzata, Skrzypek, Michał, Danso, Felix, Humeniuk, Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Polish
• Published: Poland 2012
• Subjects: Adult; Cultural Characteristics; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Female; Health Status; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Poland; Quality of Life; Reproducibility of Results; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Poland
• ISSN: 0033-2100

The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of the shorter version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire used in testing the quality of life among economically active adults in Poland.
The reliability of the results were evaluated on the basis of the compatibility of self-assessment of quality of life (question 1 of the questionnaire), with the total score obtained for all measured domains expressed in terms of Sten scores. The measure of compliance was calculated using weighted Cohen Kappa statistics. The study also evaluated the reliability of the individual domains of the quality of life based on Cronbach's alpha values.
The shorter version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire is a reliable tool for assessing the quality of life among economically active adults in Poland. The reliability of the somatic, psychological and environmental domains is sufficient. However, the social domain may require additional questions to aid in better description of the quality of life.
Furthermore, because some respondents' may have over-assessed their quality of life, a more liberal criteria may be a better option for assigning a particular Sten score to the appropriate category of quality of life. Such procedures may improve the compatibility of the results.