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Introduction:
Health related quality of life (HRQL) reflects the impact of a health state one person’s ability to lead a fulfilling life. Thus the concept of HRQL is important when considering the rehabilitation of patients with stroke. The ultimate goal of rehabilitation is to improve the quality of life of affected individuals. SAQOL -39g is a questionnaire that measures HRQL in people with stroke and aphasia. The main objective of this study is to validate Sinhala version of SAQOL- 39g as a tool to determine HRQL of patients with strike.
Materials and Methods: This was a validation study and SAQOL -39g was validated, adhering to validation and cross cultural adaption guidelines after translation and back translation with expert opinion. A total of 61 patients with stroke (3 months after hospital discharge)were enrolled. The study was conducted in medical wards and clinics in teaching hospital, Karapitiya. Missisppi Aphasia screening test was used to screen patients in order to detect aphasia. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.The SAQOL -39g Sinhala version was evaluated for its reliability, validity and accessibility. Aphasia screening test was used to screen patients in order to detect aphasia. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. The SAQOL -39gsinhalaversion was evaluated for its reliability, validity and accessibility.
Results: The mean age of the patients with stroke was 65.26 (SD±12.83, range 33-81), which 67.2% (n=41) were males and17.5% (n=29) were in age group of 71-80 years. Among study sample 83.6%(n=51)had ischemic strokes while rest had hemorrhagic stroke. Out of 61 patients (n-24) of them had aphasia following stroke. The mean overall QOL of the participants under the current investigation was 3.4346(SD= 0.9408).mean score for subdomains; physical, psychosocial and communication were 3.35,3.46 and 3.56 respectively. The acceptability of the Sinhala version was apparent from the minimal missing data (4.8% of total data; contributed by three items. M8-1.6%; W2-1.6%; T5 -1.6% as well as only one skewed item (FR7=1.19). SAQOL -39g Sinhala version showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha -0.985,p<0.001).further the items in each domain showed high cronbach’s alpha values (physical- 0.94;communication -0.83; psycho- social 0.95).there was a significant correlation (p<0.01) among each domain. A principal component analysis (PCA)was conducted on the 39 items with varimax rotation and received 6 components with 65% variance.
Discussion; SAQOL – 39g Sinhala version has good internal consistency, acceptability and these findings were compatible with initial validation of SAQOL-39g.
Conclusion; the Sinhala version of SAQOL -39 is a reliable and valid tool to assess quality of life of Sinhala speaking patients following stroke.
