Abstract
The aim of this study was to translate the original Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL™-36) questionnaire into one of the South Indian languages—Malayalam—and estimate its psychometric properties. Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) generally have an impaired quality of life (QOL). Kerala, the southernmost state of India—claimed to be a model in development indices for low- and middle-income countries—has an alarming rate of kidney disease statistics. The KDQOL™-36 questionnaire has not been validated yet to Malayalam, the official language of Kerala. The study used a methodological research design. The questionnaire was first translated into Malayalam by bilingual subject experts, and then translated back to English. First, we drafted a re-conciliated version and then did a cognitive debriefing among ten CKD patients. The final questionnaire was administered to 200 patients with CKD. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity were evaluated. Correlations between global health rating items and subscales were also made. The study followed the ‘STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology’ (STROBE) guidelines for observational studies. The sample characteristics showed that a majority of participants were males (61%) with a mean age of 57.66 years. Cronbach’s alpha was within an acceptable level (0.74). All items of KDQOL™-36 had a substantial correlation with the global health status scale. The intra-class correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability was found to be 0.70. KDQOL™-36 is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the QOL of CKD patients in Kerala. A disease-specific CKD QOL scale was lacking in the clinical scenario of Kerala, especially when a significant proportion of patients is affected and is on renal replacement therapy. The cross-cultural adaptation of Malayalam KDQOL™-36 facilitates clinical utility for both healthcare providers and CKD patients, and it is simple to administer without any formal training in various settings.
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