Translation, Validation and Reliability of the Kidney Diseases Quality of Life-Short Form (KDQOL-SF Form) Tool in Urdu.

OBJECTIVE: To translate, validate and assess the reliability of kidney disease quality of life - short form (KDQOL-SF-36) in Urdu, national language of Pakistan. STUDY DESIGN: Amulticentric descriptive cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Nephrology, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, from February to July 2015. METHODOLOGY: Patients of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) for more than three months, were included in the study. Patients of ESRD not on dialysis, and those with acute renal failure were excluded. The English version of KDQOL-SF-36 was translated in Urdu and then translated back in English; further validation was done by a senior professor of Punjab University, Lahore. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty patients were included in the study. Fifty patients were from Mayo Hospital, 35 from Shalamar Hospital and 50 from Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. The internal consistency reliability coefficient for overall scale was 0.84. Twelve sub-scales (symptoms, effect of kidney disease, burden of kidney disease, cognitive function, quality of social interaction, sexual function, social support, physical functioning, role physical, pain, emotional well-being and role emotional) had more than 0.70 internal consistency reliability coefficient. Overall mean score of the domains i.e kidney disease component score (KDCS), physical component score (PCS), and mental component score (MCS) was 60.62 ±17.61, 43.12 ±19.54, and 49.27 ±14.52, respectively. Asignificant positive relationship was observed between KDCS and MCS domains, KDCS and PCS domains, PCS, and MCS domains. CONCLUSION: The Urdu version of KDQOL-SF-36 is a reliable and valid version to measure QOLin kidney disease patients on dialysis in Pakistan.