Construction and validation of a short-form quality-of-life scale for chinese patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

BACKGROUND

In 2003, a 74-item quality-of-life (QOL) scale for Chinese benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients (BPH-QLS) was developed. Although the scale displayed good reliability and validity, the time required to complete it may limit its use. The purpose of this study was to construct and validate a short-form quality-of-life (QOL) scale for Chinese patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH).

METHODS

According to the previously published 74-item quality of life scale for BPH (BPH-QLS), we developed a pool of items, then condensed these items and validated the shortened scale, based on collected data from 163 patients with BPH. We used eight methods to reduce the items.

RESULTS

A 33-item QOL scale for BPH (short-form of BPH-QLS) was constructed. The time take by the new scale was much shorter than the original one. There was no significant difference between the 33-item scale and 74-item scale, in terms of reliability. Moreover, the 33-item BPH-QLS showed a high correlation with the 74-item BPH-QLS (r = 0.971). Scores generated by the two scales were not only parallel and coincident but also at the same level.

CONCLUSION

We concluded that the reliability and validity of the short form of BPH-QLS is close to those of the 74-item BPH-QLS. It should be a good choice in clinical practice for its greater compliance and clinical feasibility.