Validity and Reliability of the Korean Version of the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-Carer

Background and Purpose The importance of the quality of life (QOL) of carers has been increasingly recognized as it has a wide range of effects on the psychological, emotional, and social outcomes of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Understanding their QOL is impor-tant as it reflects their unique characteristics; however, there have been few studies on this in Korea. This study aimed to translate and validate the Korean version of the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-Carer (PDQ-Carer).Methods This was a methodological study that included a translation process and a cross-sectional investigation. The Korean version of the scale was developed using back translation, semantic adjustment, and pretests. The final version was self-administered by 125 Korean family carers. Cronbach's alpha values were used to assess the internal consistency of the PDQ-Carer. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to validate the translat-ed scale.Results Exploratory factor analysis identified four factors that accounted for 64.51% of the variance. A modified model using modification indices was found to fit the data well in the confirmatory factor analysis. That factor analysis supported the structure of the original four factors with relocation of several items that reflected Korean culture. Cronbach's alpha values were 0.96 for the total scale, 0.93 for personal and social activities, 0.89 for strain, 0.85 for anx-iety and depression, and 0.85 for self-care.Conclusions This study verified that the Korean version of the PDQ-Carer can be used to ac-quire important information about the multidimensional aspects of the QOL of Korean carers for patients with PD.

Automated summary

This study translated and validated the Korean version of the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-Carer (PDQ-Carer), identified four factors through exploratory factor analysis, and found that a modified model fit the data well in the confirmatory factor analysis.