Confiabilidad de un instrumento específico para evaluar calidad de vida en personas con osteoartritis

The evaluation of quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and hip includes the use of self-report questionnaires, which are a simple method capable of evaluating the impact of the disease on the lives of these individuals.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of The Osteoarthritis Knee and Hip Quality of Life questionnaire in the Colombian older adult population with osteoarthritis of the knee and hip.

Methods: The methodological approach of this study is quantitative, with a cross-sectional design. The psychometric properties of reproducibility, internal consistency and level of agreement of the questionnaire were determined for the reliability of a specific instrument to assess quality of life in people with osteoarthritis.

Results: Sixty-two older adults with osteoarthritis of the knee and hip aged 57 to 82 responded to the questionnaire. Near perfect reproducibility (ICC=0.89) was found for the physical activity domain; and substantial reproducibility (ICC=0.62-0.77) for the pain, mental health and activities domains. A very satisfactory internal consistency was also obtained in the mental health and physical activity domains (Alpha=0.90-0.94), while that of pain was adequate (Alpha=0.89). As for what was found with the level of agreement, the average differences for the physical activity, pain and mental health domains were -7.0, -8.0 and -6.9 points, respectively.

Conclusion: The Osteoarthritis Knee and Hip Quality of Life questionnaire showed good psychometric properties in the domains of physical activity, pain and mental health, while the domains of support and social activities showed less reliable results.