Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to present the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the short-form National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25) in older adults with age-related ocular disorders.


METHODS
The NEI-VFQ-25 was translated and adapted into the Chinese version and then was administered to a sample of 167 older adults with age-related visual problems. All participants were also administered with a Medical Outcomes study 12-item Short-Form Health Survey, and received a detailed eye examination by an ophthalmologist. The sample was divided into two groups--a group with mild visual problems, and a moderately or severely visually impaired group--based on visual acuity in the better eye. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were examined by both traditional validation methods and Rasch analysis.


RESULTS
Results of traditional validation analyses showed that the Chinese version of NEI-VFQ-25 obtained satisfactory validity and reliability, and was able to discriminate among older adults with different severities of visual impairment. Cronbach alpha coefficients for multi-item subscales were all above 0.70 for the whole sample. Results of Rasch analysis revealed significant misfits of some items to the Rasch model.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that both the conventional psychometric properties and potential weakness of the Chinese version of NEI-VFQ-25 are similar to those of the English version. The significant limitations of the questionnaire may limit the application of the whole questionnaire in the future.
Wang
Chong-Wen
CW
Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong, HKSAR, China. chongwenn@hotmail.com
Chan
Cecilia Lai-Wan
CL
Jin
Hui-Yu
HY
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D054554:National Eye Institute (U.S.); D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014785:Vision, Ocular