The Development of a Tracheostomy-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire: A Pilot Study.
OBJECTIVE
A long-term tracheostomy can be a life-altering event and can have significant effects on patients' quality of life (QOL). There is currently no instrument available to evaluate tracheostomy-specific QOL. To address this deficiency, the objective of this study was to create and preliminarily validate a pilot tracheostomy-specific QOL questionnaire to assess its feasibility.


METHODS
A multidisciplinary team developed the pilot tracheostomy-specific QOL questionnaire (TQOL) in 3 phases: item generation, item review, and scale construction. The survey was administered at 0 and 2 weeks to a pilot group of tracheostomy patients with concurrent administration of a validated general QOL questionnaire at week 0. Convergence validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency were the primary outcome measures.


RESULTS
A total of 37 patients completed the study (mean tracheostomy duration = 90 weeks). The convergence validity of the TQOL was moderately strong (r = 0.72), and the test-retest reliability was strong (r = 0.75). The TQOL also demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.82).


CONCLUSIONS
The TQOL has moderately strong internal consistency, convergence validity, and test-retest reliability. While additional refinement and validation may improve the questionnaire, these initial results are promising and support further development of this tool.
Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery; University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Kristine A
KA
Smith
Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery; University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
John Douglas
JD
Bosch
Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Guy
G
Pelletier
Department of Respiratory Technology, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Marianne
M
MacKenzie
Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery; University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada mhoy@ualberta.ca.
Monica Y
MY
Hoy
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014139:Tracheostomy
patient reported outcomes; quality of life; questionnaire; tracheostomy; validation