Are hip-specific items useful in a quality of life questionnaire for patients with hip fractures?

Researchers measure the significance of hip fracture by the patient's impairment. The patient's quality of life (QOL) is usually also substantially affected. However, there is no specific quality of life (QOL) questionnaire for patients with hip fractures. This study was designed to determine whether adding a new set of specific questions about hip fracture to the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire would be helpful for patients with hip fractures. Three hundred and fifty-two patients were interviewed over the telephone. Three of the four initial items were chosen for statistical analysis. The Cronbach's alpha of the four domains (physical, psychological, social, and environmental) ranged from 0.84 to 0.92 (P<0.01), and that of the new physical domain (PD) (adding the three new items) was 0.94 (P<0.01). Test-retest correlations of the three new items and all domains exceeded 0.66 (P<0.01). Criteria-related validity of the three new items ranged from 0.52 to 0.65 (P<0.05). The correlations between the new PD and the overall QOL and general health (0.70-0.78) were slightly lower than those (0.72-0.80) between the standard PD and the new items. A four-factor model was confirmed after factor analysis was conducted. In conclusion, adding three new items to the questionnaire led to only limited improvement in reliability and validity. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire is sufficient for measuring QOL in patients with hip fractures.