Assessment of validity and reliability of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire for the elderly population in Vojvodina

Abstract

Assessment of quality of life in older people has become increasingly important as a result of ageing of the population. World Health Organization created the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire for quality of life assessment based on results obtained from surveys carried out in 18 countries. The aim of this paper is to determine validity and reliability of the Serbian version WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire for the population older than 60 years. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used for quality of life assessment on the representative sample of 199 persons who live in Retirement home in Novi Sad. Reliability (internal consistency) was assessed through Cronbach ggga coefficient and validity by correlation between scores and individual's overall perception of quality of life and individual's overall perception of their health (convergent validity). Reliability was high for all four domains (Cronbach ggga ranges from 0.68 Social relationships to 0.79 Physical health domain). Validity was confirmed with a high correlation of all four domains (Physical health, Psychological, Social relationships and Environment) and individual's overall perception of quality of life (p < 0.001) and also with individual's overall perception of their health (p < 0.001). The results indicate that WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire (Serbian version) is valid and reliable quality of life instrument for older people. The results of the quality of life assessment are comparable with results obtained in other countries with suitable language version of the WHOQOL-BREF. .