Stroke specific quality of life questionnaire: Test of reliability and validity of the Persian version

BACKGROUND The aim was to assess the reliability and the validity of the translated version of the stroke specific quality of life (SS-QOL) questionnaire in Iranian post-stroke patients. METHODS This project was performed at the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, between 12 April 2010 and 24 February 2011. The English version of the SS-QOL was translated into Persian by "forward-backward" translation, cognitive inquiring and cultural adaptation process. The reliability and internal consistency were measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Validity was assessed using convergent and divergent validity through Spearman's correlation coefficient. RESULTS Our study included 117 post-stroke patients, consisting of 57 (48.7%) men and 60 (51.3%) women. The mean age of the patients was 81.60 ± 7.52 (range 60-88) years. The Persian version of the SS-QOL proved reliable (Cronbach's α = 0.96). Internal consistency was excellent for both demographic and patients' clinical characteristics (Cronbach's α ≥ 0.70). The scaling success rates were 100% for convergent validity of each scale. Divergent validity for all 12 scales was considered acceptable, whereas each scale had a 100% scaling success rate for convergent validity. CONCLUSION The Persian version of SS-QOL should be mentioned as a noteworthy instrument to specify different aspects of health related QOL of patients suffering stroke and hence that clinicians, researchers and epidemiologist can exploit it trustfully.