Quality of Life After Brain Injury: Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Translation of the QoLIBRI

• Published in: Evaluation & the health professions 2018-12, Vol.41 (4), p.456-473
• Main Authors: Castaño-León, Ana M., Navarro-Main, Blanca, Gomez, Pedro A., Gil, Angel, Soler, M. Dolors, Lagares, Alfonso, Bernabeu, Montserrat, v. Steinbüchel, Nicole, Real, Ruben G. L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Activities of daily living; Adolescent; Adult; Brain; Brain Injuries - psychology; Classical test theory; Clinical outcomes; Confidence intervals; Emotions; Female; Health administration; Health Status; Health technology assessment; Humans; Injuries; Interpersonal Relations; Item response theory; Male; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Occupational status; Patients; Physical symptoms; Psychometrics; Quality of life; Quality of Life - psychology; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; Rasch model; Rehabilitation; Reproducibility of Results; Spain; Structural Equation Models; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Test Theory; Translating; Translation; Traumatic brain injury; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0163-2787; 1552-3918
• DOI: 10.1177/0163278717702696

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is frequently followed by a variety of physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms, which affect the patient’s daily life, their social relations, and their work/educational status. In addition to function measures, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has received increasing attention as an important outcome after TBI, as it may guide rehabilitation and evaluate treatment success. Here, we report on psychometric properties of a Spanish translation of the quality of life after brain injury (QoLIBRI) questionnaire, a disease-specific instrument to assess HRQoL in patients after TBI. Classical test theory, item response theory, and structural equation modeling were used to evaluate psychometric properties of the Spanish QoLIBRI translation in a convenience sample of N = 155 patients with TBI. A subset of n = 23 patients were tested twice with a test–retest interval of ≤2 weeks. Internal consistency and test–retest reliabilities were high (Cronbach’s α: 0.78–0.96; ICCs: 0.81–0.96). Rasch analysis infit (range 0.52–1.20) and outfit indices (range 0.50–1.17) supported unidimensionality of subscales, whereas SEM analysis tended to support a correlated six-factor model (CFI = .88, RMSEA = .068, 95% confidence interval [.061, .075]). Results show favorable psychometric properties of the Spanish translation of the QoLIBRI, comparable to the international version. It is, thus, a useful instrument for clinicians and researchers assessing the impact of TBI on quality of life, the outcomes of rehabilitation, and may be included in epidemiological surveys.