Swigris JJ, Wilson SR, Green KE, Sprunger DB, Brown KK, Wamboldt FS, Health Qual Life Outcomes. 8:77. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-8-77., 2010 Jul 31
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
There is no disease-specific instrument to assess health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
METHODS:
Patients' perspectives were collected to develop domains and items for an IPF-specific HRQL instrument. We used item variance and Rasch analysis to construct the ATAQ-IPF (A Tool to Assess Quality of life in IPF).
RESULTS:
The ATAQ-IPF version 1 is composed of 74 items comprising 13 domains. All items fit the Rasch model. Domains and the total instrument possess acceptable psychometric characteristics for a multidimensional questionnaire. The pattern of correlations between ATAQ-IPF scores and physiologic variables known to be important in IPF, along with significant differences in ATAQ-IPF scores between subjects using versus those not using supplemental oxygen, support its validity.
CONCLUSIONS:
Patient-centered and careful statistical methodologies were used to construct the ATAQ-IPF version 1, an IPF-specific HRQL instrument. Simple summation scoring is used to derive individual domain scores as well as a total score. Results support the validity of the ATAQ-IPF, and future studies will build on that validity.