An instrument for assessing quality of life in persons with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction: validation of the German short-form Qualiveen questionnaire.

ABSTRACT

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective validation study. OBJECTIVES: To validate and evaluate the measurement properties of the German Qualiveen short-form (SF) questionnaire in individuals with chronic neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Tertiary neuro-urologic referral center in Switzerland. METHODS: Fifty individuals with chronic (>12 months) NLUTD resulting from SCI presenting for a urodynamic follow-up examination were enrolled to complete both the full version Qualiveen and the SF-Qualiveen questionnaires twice within three weeks. The criterion validity and test-retest reliability were evaluated by calculating the interclass correlation coefficients. Internal consistency was evaluated by calculating Cronbach's alpha. Finally, the cross-sectional construct validity was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlations between the scores of the two questionnaires for bladder evacuation, urinary continence, and urinary tract infection sub-groups. RESULTS: The mean age of the evaluated individuals was 53 years. The median duration of NLUTD was 14.9 years. The SF-Qualiveen showed good to excellent criterion validity with correlation coefficients greater than 0.8. Internal consistency was good overall and in the domains "bother with limitations" as well as "feelings" (>0.75). However, internal consistency in the domains "frequency of limitations" and "fears" was moderate-poor (0.68-0.37). The test-retest reliability was excellent with correlation coefficients greater than 0.9. Finally, the cross-sectional construct validity ranged from moderate to excellent (0.60-0.97). CONCLUSIONS: The German SF-Qualiveen has shown excellent reliability and validity and variable internal consistency. Its brevity will increase compliance, and we therefore recommend to include the SF-Qualiveen in urologic assessments.