Validation of the WhOQOL-BREF Quality of Life Questionnaire for Use With Medical Students

• Main Authors: Krägeloh, CU (Author), Henning, M (Author), Hawken, SJ (Author), Zhao, Y (Author), Shepherd, D (Author), Billington, R (Author)
• Format: Others
• Published: Taylor & Francis, 2011-08-31T06:22:33Z.
• Subjects: Medical students; Quality of life; Validation; WHOQOL-BREF; Journal Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext
• Item Description: (print) Education for Health, vol.24(2), pp.1-5 (online) Education for Health 11, article 545, available from: http://www.educationforhealth.net; 1357-6283 (print)

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to validate the use of the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire with medical students. Methods: A sample of 274 medical students in their fourth and fifth years of study (80% response rate) completed the WHOQOL-BREF instrument. The four-domain factor structure of the questionnaire was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. A variety of other tests of reliability and validity were conducted. Results: Goodness-of-fit indices from the confirmatory factor analysis were acceptable, and the factor structure of the WHOQOL-BREF was confirmed in this sample. Reliability was good, but three of the items showed strong ceiling effects. Conclusion: The WHOQOL-BREF is valid to use with medical students to assess health-related quality of life. Some items, such as those inquiring about pain and medication, may not be suitable for medical students or young people in general. Implications for medical education are presented, including that the WHOQOL-BREF may be a useful inventory for research into the determinants of health-related quality of life of medical students.
Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to validate the use of the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire with medical students. Methods: A sample of 274 medical students in their fourth and fifth years of study (80% response rate) completed the WHOQOLBREF instrument. The four-domain factor structure of the questionnaire was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. A variety of other tests of reliability and validity were conducted. Results: Goodness-of-fit indices from the confirmatory factor analysis were acceptable, and the factor structure of the WHOQOLBREF was confirmed in this sample. Reliability was good, but three of the items showed strong ceiling effects. Conclusion: The WHOQOL-BREF is valid to use with medical students to assess health-related quality of life. Some items, such as those inquiring about pain and medication, may not be suitable for medical students or young people in general. Implications for medical education are presented, including that the WHOQOL-BREF may be a useful inventory for research into the determinants of health-related quality of life of medical students.