Open AccessPsychometric Validation of a General Health Quality of Life Tool for Cats Used to Compare Healthy Cats and Cats with Chronic Kidney Disease
Author(s) -
Bijsmans E.S.,
Jepson R.E.,
Syme H.M.,
Elliott J.,
Niessen S.J.M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of veterinary internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.356
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1939-1676
pISSN - 0891-6640
DOI - 10.1111/jvim.13656
Subject(s) - cats , cronbach's alpha , medicine , kidney disease , quality of life (healthcare) , reliability (semiconductor) , psychometrics , physical therapy , clinical psychology , nursing , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics
Background Numerous validated psychometric tools are available to assess impact of disease on a human's quality of life (QoL). To date, no psychometrically validated general health‐related QoL tool exists for cats. Hypothesis/Objectives To develop and validate a tool for assessment of owner‐perceived QoL in cats (CatQoL) and to use this tool to compare QoL between healthy cats and those with chronic kidney disease ( CKD ). Animals/Subjects Total of 204 owners of young healthy cats ( YH , n = 99; <9 years), older healthy cats ( OH , n = 35), and cats diagnosed with CKD ( CKD , n = 70) completed the CatQoL. Methods Discussions with a focus group and 2 pilot surveys informed design of 16 QoL questions grouped into 4 domains. Each item scored according to frequency and importance, and item‐weighted‐impact‐scores were calculated. The validity of the tool was assessed using principal components analysis and Cronbach's α. The average item‐weighted‐impact‐score ( AWIS ) was compared among groups and domains. Results Sixteen‐item CatQoL showed good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α, 0.77) and unidimensionality with significant loadings (0.2–0.7) and communalities (>0.3). Young healthy cats had significantly higher AWIS (median [ IQR ], 1.25 [0.63, 1.88]) than OH (0.56 [−0.06, 1.00]) and CKD cats (−0.06 [−0.81, 0.88]), P < .001). CKD cats had significantly lower AWIS for eating domain ( YH : 2.00 [1.00, 3.00]; OH : 2.00 [0.67, 3.00]; CKD : 1.00 [0.00, 2.67]) when compared with the YH group and OH group, and all groups differed significantly in their management domain ( YH : −0.50 [−1.00, 0.00]; OH : −1.00 [−1.88, −0.50]; CKD : −1.50 [−2.50, −1.00], P < .001). Conclusions and Clinical Importance The CatQoL was validated for use in cats, and can be used as additional assessment parameter in clinical and research settings.