This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gupta, S K Articles by Fletcher, A E Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gupta, S K Articles by Fletcher, A E

The development of the Indian vision function questionnaire: field testing and psychometric evaluation

¹ Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
² Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital, Hyderabad, India
³ Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology, Madurai, India
⁴ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor Astrid E Fletcher
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Keppel Street, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK; astrid.fletcher{at}lshtm.ac.uk

Objective: To develop and evaluate the acceptability, reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Indian vision function questionnaire (IND-VFQ).

Methods: Problem statements from previous qualitative studies were reduced to a 45 item interviewer administered questionnaire representing three a priori domains (general functioning, psychosocial impact, and visual symptoms) which was evaluated in patients with cataract (n = 420), glaucoma (n = 120), diabetic retinopathy, or age related macular degeneration (n = 120) and normal controls (n = 120). Standard methods were used for item reduction and to evaluate psychometric properties.

Results: Psychometric item reduction produced a 33 item questionnaire. Psychometric evaluation showed that two of the three scales (psychosocial impact and visual symptoms) had good acceptability, and that all three scales showed high internal consistency (alpha >0.80; item-total correlations 0.54–0.86) and test-retest reliability (>0.89). All three scales showed moderate evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Responsiveness, assessed in cataract patients (n = 120) before and after surgery, was good for all three scales (effect sizes >1).

Conclusions: The IND-VFQ33 is a psychometrically sound measure of vision function addressing a gap in patient defined measures of vision function developed in populations living in low income countries.

Abbreviations: IND-VFQ, Indian vision function questionnaire

Keywords: vision function questionnaire; psychometric evaluation; blind; visually impaired; low income countries

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. d. Toit, A. Palagyi, J. Ramke, G. Brian, and E. L. Lamoureux Development and Validation of a Vision-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire for Timor-Leste Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., October 1, 2008; 49(10): 4284 - 4289. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S Polack, H Kuper, Z Wadud, A Fletcher, and A Foster Quality of life and visual impairment from cataract in Satkhira district, Bangladesh Br. J. Ophthalmol., August 1, 2008; 92(8): 1026 - 1030. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Polack, H. Kuper, W. Mathenge, A. Fletcher, and A. Foster Cataract visual impairment and quality of life in a Kenyan population Br. J. Ophthalmol., July 1, 2007; 91(7): 927 - 932. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]