Psychometric Properties of the Traditional Chinese Version of the Venous Leg Ulcer Quality of Life Questionnaire.
Hsiao-Ching Lin, Chien-Liang Fang, Chin-Hao Hsu and 1 others
PMID 36940378WHAT IT FOUND
A traditional Chinese venous leg ulcer quality-of-life questionnaire is reliable and valid for Taiwanese patients.
Its symptom distress subscale is weak, so scores for itching, odor, and exudate may not accurately reflect patient experience and should be interpreted with caution.
Key findings
01The traditional Chinese version of the Venous Leg Ulcer Quality of Life Questionnaire demonstrated good overall internal consistency reliability and test-retest stability.
02The Symptom Distress construct showed poor convergent validity, with items regarding itching, odor, and exudate failing to aggregate well on the underlying factors.
03The questionnaire showed good criterion-related validity when compared with the Taiwanese Short-Form Health Survey.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted at a single hospital in southern Taiwan, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other regions or healthcare systems. The poor performance of the symptom distress items may be influenced by the specific advanced wound-care dressings used at the study site, which effectively managed exudate and odor. The study was cross-sectional, so it does not provide evidence of how the questionnaire performs over time or in response to treatment changes.
Declared interests
The authors disclosed no other financial relationships related to this article.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the entire questionnaire is equally reliable. While the overall scale and other subscales performed well, the symptom distress subscale failed to demonstrate good convergent validity for key items like itching and odor. Using these specific scores to guide clinical decisions without direct patient assessment may lead to inaccurate conclusions.