The Validation and Psychometric Properties of the Dutch Version of the Swallowing Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (DSWAL-QOL)

The aim of this work was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Swallowing Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (DSWAL-QOL). A cross-sectional survey of 295 dysphagic patients and 124 healthy controls was studied to evaluate the validity and reliability of the DSWAL-QOL, and 50 patients were recruited for the test-retest reliability. Construct validity was validated through principal component analysis and a correlation study between the DSWAL-QOL and the SF-36. The psychometric properties of the DSWAL-QOL were found to be largely similar to those of the original SWAL-QOL, except the Sleep scale; the composite Symptoms score reaffirms its validity in this study. The DSWAL-QOL was able to differentiate between dysphagic and nondysphagic patients and is sensitive to disease severity as measured by known-groups validity, based on different food and liquid textures. The DSWAL-QOL is a clinically valid and reliable tool for assessing the quality of life in Dutch-speaking dysphagic patients, regardless of the cause or severity of the dysphagia.