Psychometric properties of the Tunisian-Arabic version of the Women's Health Questionnaire

Abstract

Objectives The Women's Health Questionnaire has been developed for the assessment of symptom perception in mid-aged women. It explores a range of psychological and physical symptoms and is one of the most used health-related quality of life measures. It was developed in the English language and is available in several other languages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Tunisian-Arabic version of the questionnaire.

Methods A Tunisian-Arabic translation of the original version of the Women's Health Questionnaire (36-item WHQ) was produced using the forward–backward translation method recommended by the designers. A total of 1231 women were anonymously recruited from the general population using the quota method of sampling. All women were administered the WHQ as part of a broader questionnaire; 1150 records were finally retained for analysis. Psychometric evaluation was performed for the original version of the WHQ (36 items) and then for the 23-item revised version proposed by the MAPI Research Institute.

Results The acceptability and comprehensibility of the scale were good. The 36-item version showed overall good reliability, but some subscales lacked internal consistency. The validity was explored by principal component analysis and showed significant differences with the original English instrument and some deficiencies in its dimensional structure. The validity of the 23-item revised version was better. Finally, we suggest some adjustments to improve the reliability and validity of the instrument.

Conclusion The Tunisian-Arabic version of the WHQ is globally reliable and valid, but we recommend the use of an improved shortened version, more specific to mid-aged women.

Key words::

• WOMEN
• MENOPAUSE
• QUALITY OF LIFE
• WOMEN’S HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE
• VALIDATION STUDIES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Claude Ben Slama, Daniel Delanoe, the staff of CeFIR/ONFP (National Office for Family and Population) for their counsel and support, and Akram Khelifa for language assistance. We are grateful to all the women who kindly consented to participate in the study.

Conflict of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Source of funding The survey was funded by the Tunisian Office for Family and Population (ONFP).