Reliability and Validity of the Thai Version of the Carolinas Comfort Scale
Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Thai version of the Carolinas Comfort Scale (CCS) to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in post-hernia repaired patients. Materials and Methods: Three hundred twenty-eight patients that underwent the inguinal hernia repair procedure in Vajira Hospital were recruited in the present study. The Thai version of CCS (TCCS) was performed entirely by the patient, and the test-retest reliability was conducted at a 2-week interval. Results: The TCCS’s internal consistency reliability was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha 0.89). The inter-rater reliability was found to agree with the intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.90. The test-retest reliability over two weeks was high, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.92. Conclusion: The Thai version of CCS was found to have adequate reliability and validity and could be used to measure HRQoL in Thai patients that undergo inguinal hernia repair. Keywords: Reliability; Validity; Carolinas Comfort Scale; Thai version