Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire (BHQ) in individuals with bronchiectasis. Methods: Ninety-four individuals with stable non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis were included. Physical characteristics and spirometric parameters were recorded. The Turkish version of the BHQ was formed and used to assess disease-specific quality of life. The St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) was used to evaluate quality of life. Dyspnea at rest and on effort was assessed using the modified Borg scale (mBorg). The presence of daily cough and daily sputum expectoration was questioned. Results: Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the Turkish version of the BHQ was 0.796 with a McDonald’s Omega of 0.801. The ICC value of 0.934 indicated excellent reliability. The BHQ score was negatively correlated with the SGRQ-total (r = −0.762, p < 0.001), SGRQ-symptom (r = −0.657, p < 0.001), SGRQ-activity (r = −0.635, p < 0.001), SGRQ-impact (r = −0.732, p < 0.001), and mBorg scores (r = −0.401, p = 0.001). The participants with dyspnea at rest and on effort, daily cough, and daily sputum expectoration had lower BHQ scores than those without these complaints (p < 0.001, p = 0.034, p = 0.009, and p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusions: The Turkish version of the BHQ has an acceptable validity and excellent reliability, enabling a disease-specific quality of life measurement in bronchiectasis.