A randomised trial to evaluate the self-administered standardised chronic respiratory questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Health Outcomes Research
• Quality of Life Measurement

Background:

• The Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ) is a key tool for assessing health-related quality of life (HRQL) in chronic respiratory disease (CRD).
• Traditionally, the CRQ is interviewer-administered (IA) and features an individualized dyspnea domain.
• The efficacy of self-administered (SA) CRQ versions and standardized dyspnea questions remains under investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of self-administration (SA) and standardized dyspnea questions on the measurement properties of the CRQ.
• To compare the validity and responsiveness of SA CRQ with IA CRQ.
• To assess the influence of standardized versus individualized dyspnea domains on CRQ responsiveness.

Main Methods:

• A factorial design, multicenter trial involving 177 patients with CRD.
• Randomization to either IA CRQ or SA CRQ.
• Patients completed either standardized or individualized dyspnea items before and after respiratory rehabilitation.

Main Results:

• The SA CRQ demonstrated greater responsiveness to HRQL changes across all domains compared to the IA CRQ, while maintaining validity.
• The individualized dyspnea domain showed higher responsiveness than the standardized version.
• Correlations between baseline and change scores with other HRQL instruments confirmed the good validity of the SA CRQ.

Conclusions:

• Self-administration and standardization of the CRQ preserve its validity and responsiveness.
• SA CRQs are a viable alternative to IA CRQs for assessing HRQL in patients with CRD.
• Findings challenge the notion that IA questionnaires are inherently superior to SA versions for older CRD patients.