Chinese validation of the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire Short Form

Objective: The Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire Short Form (PFIQ-7) is an International Continence Society-recommended disease-specific questionnaire evaluating the impact of pelvic floor disorders on women's quality of life. The PFIQ-7 has not been validated in China, which limits its use. The objective of this research was to validate the Chinese-translated version of the PFIQ-7. Methods: The PFIQ-7 was translated into Chinese; 134 women with pelvic floor disorder completed the PFIQ-7 and the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) questionnaires. Reliability and validity were analyzed. The reliability of the PFIQ-7 was assessed for internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The face/content validity was assessed subjectively by an expert panel and/or focus group participants. The criterion validity was evaluated using the Spearman correlation with the SF-12. The construct validity was determined by factor analysis. Results: The PFIQ-7 has a high internal consistency (Cronbach alpha was 0.801) and high test-retest reliability (the intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.862, P < 0.01). PFIQ-7 scores were negatively correlated with those of the SF-12 (P < 0.01). A factor analysis showed good construct validity. Conclusions: The Chinese version of the PFIQ-7 has high reliability and validity for the Chinese population. It is highly recommended for clinical treatment and research.