Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Moroccan version of the Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 (GQL-15) questionnaire in patients with glaucoma

Abstract

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world. In addition, visual impairment and psychological strain have been shown to have a significant impact on quality of life (QoL) in glaucoma patients. Maintaining the quality of life of glaucoma patients has become an important component of treatment. The goal of this study is to develop a Moroccan Arabic dialect version of the Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 questionnaire and to examine its psychometric properties. The Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 questionnaire was translated and cross-culturally adapted into Moroccan Arabic dialect and administered to glaucoma patients recruited from the ophthalmology department of the Omar Drissi Hospital, Hassan II University Hospital, Fez. Sociodemographic and other clinical data were collected. Psychometric properties were performed, including internal consistency, which was tested using Cronbach's alpha (α), test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Construct validity was assessed by examining the convergent and divergent validity of items. The questionnaire was administered to 148 patients with a mean age of 60.91±15.10 years. Over half of the patients were female (58.1%), patients were married (77.7%), illiterate (62.2%) and unemployed (82.3%). The majority of patients had primary open angle glaucoma (68.9%). The mean time to complete the GQL-15 was 3.26±0.51min. The mean summary score for the GQL-15 was 39.50±16.76. Cronbach's alpha for the entire scale was 0.95 (central and near vision 0.58; peripheral vision 0.94; glare and dark adaptation 0.87). The Moroccan Arabic dialect version of the GQL-15 demonstrates adequate reliability and validity. Therefore, this version could be used as a reliable and valid tool for quality-of-life assessment in Moroccan glaucoma patients.