The WHOQOL-BREF: Translation and validation of the odia version in a sample of patients with mental illness

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization Quality of Life–BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) is a well-validated, cross-cultural, generic instrument to measure the quality of life, which is available in many languages. Objective: It was intended to translate and validate the WHOQOL-BREF in Odia, an Indian language. Materials and Methods: WHOQOL translation methodology was adopted that included forward and backward translation and contribution from bi- and monolingual individuals. A sample of adult patients attending psychiatric unit and their caregivers without mental illness completed the questionnaire. Psychometric properties of the Odia version including reliability, validity, and item's correlation with their assigned domains were assessed. Results: A total of 150 individuals were included in the study, comprising 91 patients and 59 caregivers as healthy controls. Validity as measured by known group's comparison produced significant result in all the four domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment), overall quality of life and health. There was significant correlation of the questionnaire items with their original assigned domain scores. The internal consistency reliability was acceptable; Cronbach's alpha value for the whole scale was 0.81 and that for individual domains were physical health: 0.71, psychological health: 0.70, social relationships: 0.65, and environmental health: 0.71. Conclusion: The study presents the preliminary findings on the psychometric properties of the Odia version of WHOQOL-BREF and suggests that it has acceptable reliability and validity for use in clinical settings involving patients with mental illness.