Feasibility, reliability, and validity of the turkish version of the esophageal-atresia-quality-of-life questionnaires to assess condition-specific quality of life in children and adolescents born with esophageal atresia

Background: This study reports the feasibility, validity, and reliability of the Turkish versions of the Esophageal-Atresia-Quality-of-Life (EA-QOL) questionnaires, which were originally developed in Sweden and Germany. Methods: After translation from Swedish to Turkish and cognitive debriefings, 51 families of children aged 2-7 years (parent-reported, 17 items) and 54 families of children 8-17 years (child-reported and parent-reported, 24 items) responded to the EA-QOL questionnaires and a validated generic HRQOL instrument (PedsQL4.0). The medical records of the patients and the questionnaires were used to obtain clinical data. The Turkish version of the EA-QOL questionnaires were evaluated for feasibility (<5% missing item responses), reliability (internal consistency/retest reliability for 3 weeks), and validity (known groups/concurrent/convergent). The level of significance was P < .05. Results: The feasibility of the Turkish version of the EA-QOL questionnaires was good. The internal consistency of all scales was satisfactory, as were the levels of agreement of EA-QOL scores between the field study and the retest study. Known-group validity and concurrent validity were achieved, since the EA-QOL questionnaires showed that esophageal symptoms and feeding difficulties were negatively associated with EA-QOL total scores, both in the age-specific versions (child-reported and parent- reported), and with respect to respiratory symptoms in the version for EA children 2-7 years (parent-reported). A higher number of respiratory symptoms decreased the EA-QOL total scores in both age groups (parent-reported, P < .05). Correlations between the EA-QOL total scores and PedsQL-4.0 total scores supported convergent validity. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the EA-QOL questionnaires is feasible, valid, and reliable to assess condition-specific HRQOL in EA children.