Validation and preliminary data from a health‐related quality of life questionnaire for owners of dogs with cardiac disease

Background Cardiac disease in dogs impacts the quality of life (QoL) of their owners, but owners' QoL has not been comprehensively assessed in this population. Objectives To develop, validate, and provide preliminary data from a health‐related QoL (hrQoL) questionnaire for owners of dogs with cardiac disease. Subjects A total of 141 owners of dogs with cardiac disease were studied. Methods An owner hrQoL (O‐hrQoL) questionnaire containing 20 items related to areas of a person's life that could be impacted by caring for a dog with cardiac disease was developed and administered to owners of dogs with cardiac disease. The highest possible total score was 100, with higher scores indicating a worse hrQoL. Readability, internal consistency, face and construct validity, and item‐total correlations were assessed. Results Median O‐hrQoL score was 35 (range, 0‐87). The questionnaire had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.933), construct validity (Spearman's r = 0.38‐0.53; Kendall's τ = 0.30‐0.43; P