title: [Development and Evaluation of Allergic Rhinitis-Specific Quality of Life (ARSQOL) Scale for Adults].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to develop an Allergic Rhinitis-Specific Quality of Life (ARSQOL) scale and verify its validity and reliability.
  
  
  METHODS
  ARSQOL was developed in 5 steps. Items for the preliminary instrument of ARSQOL were developed through a literature review and deep interviews with allergic rhinitis patients. Face validity with Content Validity Index (CVI), construct validity using factor analysis, and known group comparison, criterion validity test using correlation between ARSQOL and total nasal symptoms score (TNSS) were conducted to evaluate the validity of ARSQOL. Cronbach's α was used to evaluate the reliability of ARSQOL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CVI for the items in the final ARSQOL were .92. Five factors including discomfort associated with nasal symptoms (4 items), physical function (7 items), mental function (5 items), sleep disorder and social function (4 items), and problems of daily life (6 items) were identified through factor analysis and these five factors explained 66.6% of the total variance. The correlation coefficient between TNSS and the total score of life quality was -.69. In the group comparison, the persistent allergic rhinitis group showed lower ARSQOL scores than the intermittent patient group, and moderate to the severe allergic rhinitis patient group presented poorer ARSQOL than the mild symptom patient group. The Cronbach's α reliability coefficient was .95.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results show that the ARSQOL has good reliability and validity and thus ARSQOL is a useful scale for clinical practices and research as a measure of quality of life in adults with allergicr hinitis.
authors.affiliation: The Environmental Health Center·School of Medicine, Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Sook
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea. eopark@jejunu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Eunok
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D011788:Quality of Life; D065631:Rhinitis, Allergic / Q000473:pathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adult; Allergic Rhinitis; Instrument; Quality of Life