Validation of the Arabic Severe Respiratory Insufficiency Questionnaire

Background/objectives Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) in patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency requiring Home Mechanical Ventilation (HMV) requires a valid measurement tool. The Severe Respiratory Insufficiency (SRI) questionnaire, originally developed in German, has been translated into different languages and tested in different contexts, but has so far not been in use in Arabic-speaking populations. The objective of this study is to validate the Arabic version of the SRI questionnaire in a sample of Arabic-speaking patients from Lebanon. Methods Following forward/backward translations, the finalized Arabic version was administered to 149 patients (53 males-96 females, age 69.80 +/- 10 years) receiving HMV. Patients were recruited from outpatient clinics and visited at home. The Arabic SRI and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) were administered, in addition to questions on sociodemographics and medical history. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to explore dimensionality; internal consistency reliability of the unidimensional scale and its subscales was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. External nomological validity was examined by assessing the correlation between the SRI and SF-36 scores. Results The 49-item Arabic SRI scale showed a high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach alpha for the total scale was 0.897 and ranged between 0.73 and 0.87 for all subscales). Correlations between the SF-36-Mental Health Component MHC and SF-36-Physical Health Component with SRI-Summary Scale were 0.57 and 0.66, respectively, with higher correlations observed between the SF-36 and specific sub-scales such as the Physical Functioning and the Social Functioning subscales [r = 0.81 and r = 0.74 (P < 0.01), respectively]. Conclusion and recommendations The Arabic SRI is a reliable and valid tool for assessing HRQL in patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency receiving home mechanical ventilation.