Turkish version of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale

Hakverdioğlu Yönt G. & Khorshid L. (2012) Turkish version of the Stroke‐Specific Quality of Life Scale. International Nursing Review59, 274–280 Aim: To test the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Stroke‐Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS‐QOL). Background: Stroke is a leading cause of activity limitation and participation restriction that negatively affect health‐related quality of life. The assessment of SS‐QOL in stroke patients has not been validated in Turkey. Methods: Cross‐sectional and methodological research design was used. Five hundred stroke survivors who had been diagnosed with stroke at least 6 months previously were included in this cross‐sectional study. The reliability of the SS‐QOL was based on internal consistency, item correlation. Construct validity was evaluated by Exploratory Factor Analysis. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated for the total score of the SS‐QOL to establish the internal consistency of the instrument. Construct validity was assessed by comparing patients' scores on the SS‐QOL with those obtained by other test methods: SF‐36 Health Survey and Katz Index of Activities of Daily Living. Findings: In the process of adaptation to the Turkish population, the scale was converted to 48 items. The correlation coefficient for the test‐retest scores of the SS‐QOL was calculated as 0.81. Internal consistency for the scale showed Cronbach's alpha = 0.97. As a result of applying factor analysis to the scale, eight factors were obtained, which accounted for 77.47% of the scale's total variance. Conclusion: SS‐QOL is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring self‐reported health‐related quality of life at group level among people with stroke who are diagnosed with stroke at least 6 months previously in the Turkish population.