title: Psychometric properties of Aquarel. a disease-specific quality of life questionnaire for pacemaker patients.
abstract: In cardiac pacing current clinical practice permits the use of ventricular or atrioventricular-synchronous pacemakers. However, it is not known which type of pacemaker results in superior clinical and patient outcomes. To date, there is no feasible and validated disease-specific questionnaire for pacemaker patients to assess quality of life (QoL) available. The Aquarel questionnaire was developed as a disease-specific extension to the Short-Form-36 (SF-36). A cross-sectional study was carried out in 74 pacemaker patients to evaluate validity and reliability of this instrument. Items were selected and scales constructed based on factorial analysis. Internal consistency, content validity and test-retest reliability were moderate to excellent. Correlations with the SF-36 scales, pacing mode and functional tests were as hypothesized, demonstrating the individual value and distinctiveness of the Aquarel subscales. The results support the feasibility and usefulness of evaluating QoL in pacemaker patients when using Aquarel as an extension to the SF-36.
authors.affiliation: Heart Lung Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Stofmeel
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Post
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Kelder
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Grobbee
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: van Hemel
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001146:Arrhythmia, Sinus / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D001919:Bradycardia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006327:Heart Block / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*