Psychometric properties of the Danish Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale (SAQOL-39gDK)

ABSTRACT

Background

People with aphasia may be particularly vulnerable to a loss of quality of life after an acquired brain injury, but only a limited number of self-report measures have been adapted to people with aphasia.

Aims

To investigate the psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39g (SAQOL-39gDK).

Methods and procedures

The questionnaire was administered to 72 participants admitted to inpatient neurorehabilitation after an acquired brain injury (65 with stroke) of which 22 had aphasia.

Outcomes and results

Items demonstrated an acceptable level of skewness, floor, and ceiling effects. Hypothesized associations between subscales and the total scale were generally confirmed. Test-retest reliability was acceptable, although wide confidence intervals suggested a positive change in quality of life during the test-retest interval. Acceptable levels of internal reliability were found of the total scale and subscales (Crohnbach’s alpha = 0.84–0.94, omega total = 0.84–0.94). Inter-item correlations and worst-split half reliability indicated that not all subscales were unidimensional, and confirmatory factory analysis only supported a one-factor model for the communication subscale.

Conclusions

The reliability and validity of SAQOL-39gDK were found to be acceptable and comparable to other language versions of the scale according to criteria used in previous psychometric studies. The factor structure of the original scale could not be confirmed in the present study and should be investigated further in a larger sample of participants.

KEYWORDS:

• Stroke
• aphasia
• quality of life
• brain injury
• psychometric properties

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all of the participants, and noticeably Professor Katerina Hilari, City, University of London, for granting permission to translate SAQOL-39g into Danish as well as her invaluable contribution to the adaptation of the scale.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that data supporting the findings of this study are available as summary data within the article and its online supplementary materials. Participants did not give written consent for raw data to be shared publicly.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2024.2368682.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.