Investigation of Validity, Reliability and Acceptability of the Turkish Version of the 15D Questionnaire Health-Related Quality of Life on the People with Visual Impairment

Objective: This study aims to establish the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the 15D questionnaire in a population of visually-impaired subjects. Material and Methods: Fifty-seven people (mean age: 36.6 +/- 12.3 years) who have a visual impairment and 63 sighted people (mean age: 54.4 +/- 11.6 years) participated in this study. A background questionnaire, 15D questionnaire, the Family Affluence Scale (FAS), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used. Results: Among socio-demographic variables studied, the age (r=-0.41; 95% CI:-0.61 to-0.17; p<0.05), having an additional chronic health problem (r=-0.46; 95% CI:-0.64 to -0.23) and BDI score (r=-0.63; 95% CI: -0.61 to- 0.17; p<0.05) were significantly correlated with 15 D index score. Reliability was assessed for subjects who participated both in the first and second interviews (N=52). Cronbach's alpha for the 15D questionnaire was 0.75 at Time 1 and 0.78 at Time 2, which was obtained after removal of two dimensions (dimensions # 6 and 7) from the index because of zero variance. ICC for the 15D index was 0.95. Conclusion: It was concluded that the Turkish version of the generic 15D questionnaire was an acceptable, valid and reliable measure of health related quality of life for people with visually-impairment.