Serbian version of the Women’s Health Questionnaire: psychometric properties

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to translate the Women’s Health Questionnaire (WHQ) into the Serbian language and assess its validity and reliability in a population of Serbian menopausal women.

Methods The study included peri- and postmenopausal women from two Community Health Centers in Belgrade. Women filled out the WHQ, the Short Form-36 questionnaire (SF-36) and Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). The WHQ was translated according to recommended methodology for cultural adaptation of questionnaires and its psychometric characteristics (internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, factor analysis, sensitivity, discriminant, construct and criterion validity) were tested.

Results In the Serbian population, the mean values of the WHQ domains were mostly comparable with reference Mediterranean countries. Whole-scale Cronbach’s α was 0.838. Moreover, five WHQ domains had a value of Cronbach’s α above the acceptable limit. There were no significant differences in WHQ scores between our two investigators. On exploratory factor analysis, we obtained ten factors (two items formed a new factor – ‘Menstrual pathology’). Almost all SF-36 domains were significantly associated with WHQ domains, while the BDI was associated with domains: depressive mood, anxiety and sleep problems. Based on ROC analysis, WHQ is slightly more reliable for perimenopausal than postmenopausal Serbian women.

Conclusion The Serbian version of the WHQ showed very good reliability and validity in assessment of quality of life among menopausal women. The WHQ is applicable for both peri- and postmenopausal women.

Key words::

• WOMEN’S HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE
• SCALE VALIDATION
• MENOPAUSE
• SERBIA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We sincerely appreciate Dr Myra Hunter and the MAPI Research Trust for allowing us to adapt the original version of the WHQ. The authors would like to express gratitude to the two Community Health Centers in Belgrade (‘Vracar’ and ‘Rakovica’) for allowing us to conduct this study using their patients and facilities. Finally, we would like to thank all participants for taking interest in our study.

Conflict of interest The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this study.

Source of funding Nil.