scholarly journals Studying suicide using proxy-based data: reliability and validity of a short version scale for measuring quality of life in rural China

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12396
Author(s):  
Huiming He ◽  
Qiqing Mo ◽  
Xinyu Bai ◽  
Xinguang Chen ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
...  

Background To evaluate the reliability and validity of the short version six-item Quality of Life Scale (QOLS-6) and the consistency of subject-proxy data in a case-control psychological autopsy study on elderly suicide in rural China. Methods A two-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select research sites. We used self-administered questionnaires to collect proxy-based information from informants and subject-based information from living comparisons. Results A total of 242 pairs of suicide cases and living comparisons were selected in our research. Subject-proxy consistency for QOLS-6 was good (Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.688) in living controls. Good internal consistency of QOLS-6 was validated by Cronbach’s α being greater than 0.6 among suicide cases and living comparisons. The mean scores of quality of life were lower among suicide cases than living controls. Quality of life was negatively correlated with depression, loneliness, hopelessness, impulsiveness and stressful life events, while it was positively correlated with activities of daily living and family function. Conclusions QOLS-6 has good reliability and validity, which can be used for assessing quality of life among Chinese rural older adults. It is shorter and easier than any other scale for measuring quality of life and can be used as a screening tool in future studies.

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Shah ◽  
F. M. Ali ◽  
A. Y. Finlay ◽  
M. S. Salek

Abstract Background A person’s chronic health condition or disability can have a huge impact on the quality of life (QoL) of the whole family, but this important impact is often ignored. This literature review aims to understand the impact of patients' disease on family members across all medical specialities, and appraise existing generic and disease-specific family quality of life (QoL) measures. Methods The databases Medline, EMBASE, CINHAL, ASSIA, PsycINFO and Scopus were searched for original articles in English measuring the impact of health conditions on patients' family members/partner using a valid instrument. Results Of 114 articles screened, 86 met the inclusion criteria. They explored the impact of a relative's disease on 14,661 family members, mostly 'parents' or 'mothers', using 50 different instruments across 18 specialities including neurology, oncology and dermatology, in 33 countries including the USA, China and Australia. These studies revealed a huge impact of patients' illness on family members. An appraisal of family QoL instruments identified 48 instruments, 42 disease/speciality specific and six generic measures. Five of the six generics are aimed at carers of children, people with disability or restricted to chronic disease. The only generic instrument that measures the impact of any condition on family members across all specialities is the Family Reported Outcome Measure (FROM-16). Although most instruments demonstrated good reliability and validity, only 11 reported responsiveness and only one reported the minimal clinically important difference. Conclusions Family members' QoL is greatly impacted by a relative's condition. To support family members, there is a need for a generic tool that offers flexibility and brevity for use in clinical settings across all areas of medicine. FROM-16 could be the tool of choice, provided its robustness is demonstrated with further validation of its psychometric properties.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-531
Author(s):  
Zhenyu Ma ◽  
Qiuping He ◽  
Guanghui Nie ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Liang Zhou

ABSTRACTBackground:Older adults represent the segment of population most exposed to the risk of suicide nearly everywhere in the world. Previous studies showed that hopelessness was an important risk factor for suicide.Aims:This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the four-item Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS-4) in psychological autopsy study among Chinese rural elderly.Method:Two-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select research sites. Using case-control psychological autopsy study, face-to-face interviews were conducted to collected information.Results:A total of 242 elderly suicide deaths and 242 matched living comparisons were investigated, including 135 males and 107 females for each group. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) of the controls were 0.682-0.713. The median score of BHS-4 among suicides was significantly higher than that among controls. The corrected correlation coefficient between items and total score were 0.184-0.723. Cronbach’s Alphas coefficient was 0.834. Only one common factor was precipitated by exploratory factor analysis and the cumulative variance contribution rates were 59.558% for suicides and 52.722% for living controls. The correlation coefficient between hopelessness and depression were 0.481 among suicide death and 0.617 among living controls.Conclusion:The information provided by the informants through psychological autopsy method had high reliability to reflect the actual situation of suicides and controls. BHS-4 has good reliability and validity among Chinese rural elderly suicides. It is suitable for psychological autopsy study among Chinese rural elderly.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Chang Liu ◽  
Xuan Wang ◽  
Mengpei Zhang ◽  
Zhiheng Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) liver depression infertility quality of life scale is developed to provide a scientific and reliable tool for TCM treatment and intervention in the treatment of liver depression patients with infertility, as well as basis and assistance for clinical decision-making.Methods Literature research method: Through the retrieval of Chinese knowledge network (CNKI), Wanfang (WANFANG), Vip (VIP), Springer, PubMed database of existing Chinese life quality scale and infertility dedicated quality of life scale, an entry pool is built with symptoms, emotional state, social function state and satisfaction as dimensions. Using the Delphi method to screen the entries. Screening entries according to the results of expert review, and evaluating the positive degree coefficient, authority degree and coordination coefficient by the experts. Using the clinical questionnaire method to screen the entries further. To form the Chinese medicine liver depression infertility life of quality scale. Scale evaluation: the reliability and validity of the scale were evaluated based on the results of the clinical questionnaire. Results After two rounds of Delphi method, there are 33 entries remained. The clinical questionnaire rescreened entries, formed the traditional Chinese medicine liver depression infertility quality of life scale containing 4 dimensions of symptoms, emotional states, social function states and satisfaction, with total of 29 entries and VAS score scale. Evaluation results: the Kronbach alpha coefficients performed well in total and each aspect. The validity of the scale: the structural efficiency evaluation results are in good agreement with the scale structure envisioned at the time of design. The relationship between the quality of life scale and the standard scale (FertiQoL International2008) showed a high absolute value.Conclusion In this study, the quality of life scale of Chinese medicine liver depression type infertility was developed by literature research, Delphi method and clinical questionnaire, with good reliability and validity of the scale evaluated. It could be used as a tool for efficacy judgment tool or quality of life evaluation in Chinese medicine treatment or intervention for patients with liver depression infertility.


2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 1184-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Qu ◽  
HQ Guo ◽  
J Liu ◽  
Y Zhang ◽  
G Sun

The quality of life (QOL) of the Chinese ‘floating’ migrant population is of growing concern. Urban construction workers are the main migrant population in China, but there is little published research on their QOL. The reliability and validity of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire were assessed by conducting a population-based study of migrant construction workers in Shenyang, China. Two construction sites were randomly selected from each of the five districts of Shenyang City and 1200 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to rurally-registered, non-Shenyang workers aged ≥ 16 years at these sites. A total of 1125 questionnaires were evaluated. The overall Cronbach's a coefficient of the SF-36 questionnaire was 0.821 while the respective Cronbach's α coefficient for each dimension was > 0.70. Results showed that the SF-36 questionnaire demonstrated good reliability and validity, and that it can be used to measure QOL among Chinese migrant urban construction workers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
P. Han ◽  
T. Su ◽  
M. Qin ◽  
H. Chen ◽  
T. Hummel

PURPOSE: Although neglected by science for a long time, the sense of olfaction has received increasing attention from research areas including psychology, neuroscience, clinical medicine and nutrition. With the rise of psychophysical and neuroimaging re- search into olfaction, psychometric tools (e.g. questionnaires and scales) are the basis for the quantitative exploration of inter-in- dividual variability regarding olfactory related responses. The current systematic review is to summarize existing olfaction related questionnaires and/or scales. METHODS: Peer-reviewed literature on scales and questionnaires related to perception of odors were searched from online databa- ses (PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO). Twenty-one articles that meet the following criteria were included in the review: “hu- man species”, “no physical odor stimuli” and “describing the original development of the tool”, and “with specific focus on olfaction or odor related responses or behaviors”. The psychometric properties, advantages and possible disadvantages were discussed. RESULTS: Existing psychometric measures focus on various aspects of olfactory related responses and behaviors, including af- fective experiences of odor perception, awareness and attitude towards olfaction, olfactory function and the quality of life change due to olfactory dysfunction, and the ability to create vivid mental odor images. While most of them have been tested to have good reliability and validity, some were relatively time-consuming due to the number of questionnaire items. Besides, although many measures have been used in clinical populations, few have provided information on the predictive validity regarding effecti- veness of clinical intervention on changes of certain responses or behaviors. SUMMARY: The current review provides an overview of olfactory related questionnaires and scales, highlighting the emotional and affective impact of olfaction and the impact on quality of life due to olfactory dysfunction. With growing interest in olfaction as an important sense, the development and use of psychometrically sound measurements in conjunction with objective assess- ments will advance our understanding of human olfaction and olfactory dysfunction. The review provides a guide for researchers and clinicians alike to select olfactory scales suitable for olfactory research with different experimental purposes and specific samples.


2000 ◽  
Vol 177 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Wilkinson ◽  
Bernadette Hesdon ◽  
Diane Wild ◽  
Ron Cookson ◽  
Carole Farina ◽  
...  

BackgroundQuality of life is the subject of growing interest and investigation.AimsTo develop and validate a short, self-report quality of life questionnaire (the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale, SQLS).MethodPeople with schizophrenia in Liverpool were recruited via the NHS. Items, generated from in-depth interviews, were developed into an 80-item self-report questionnaire. Data were factor analysed, and a shorter form measure was tested for reliability and validity. This measure was administered together with other self-report measures – SF–36, GHQ–12 and HADS – to assess validity.ResultsData were analysed to produce a final 30-item questionnaire, comprising three scales (‘psychosocial’, ‘motivation and energy’, and ‘symptoms and side-effects’) addressing different SQLS dimensions. Internal consistency reliability of the scale was found to be satisfactory. There was a high level of association with relevant SF–36, GHQ–12 and HADS scores.ConclusionsThe SQLS was completed within 5–10 minutes. It possesses internal reliability and construct validity, and promises to be a useful tool for the evaluation of new treatment regimes for people with schizophrenia.


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