Construction and Validation of the 17-Item Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL-17): A Comprehensive Short Scale to Assess the Functional, Psychosocial, and Therapeutic Factors of QOL among Stroke Survivors.

Abstract

(1) Background: The exiting stroke-specific quality of life (SS-QOL) measure scales are limited by their excessive length, inconsistent validity, and restricted breadths of assessment. The objectives of this study were to construct and validate a comprehensive short SS-QOL scale to assess stroke-related outcomes and QOL and determine the socioeconomic, sociodemographic, and pharmacotherapeutic predictors of QOL among stroke survivors. (2) Methods: The novel 17-item SS-QOL scale (SS-QOL-17) was constructed with the aim of providing a well-balanced measuring tool to depict QOL widely while ensuring the simplicity of administration. (3) Results: The SS-QOL-17 structure was validated over a solution of three factors with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy = 0.894 and a significant Bartlett's test of sphericity (p < 0.001). The Cronbach's alpha of the SS-QOL-17 was 0.903. Better QOL was correlated to financial wellbeing (beta 0.093, p < 0.001), and medication adherence (beta 0.305, p = 0.004), whereas reduced QOL was correlated to older age (beta -0.117, p = 0.014), illiteracy (beta -6.428, p < 0.001), unemployment (beta -6.170, p < 0.001), and higher amount of prescribed medication (beta -1.148, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: The SS-QOL-17 is a valid and reliable tool with promising psychometric properties. It is useful in clinical practice and research settings to evaluate the post-stroke therapeutic and rehabilitation outcomes.