VALIDATION OF THE QUALITY OF RECOVERY-40 QUESTIONNAIRE ADAPTED FOR CROATIAN POPULATION

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Patient Outcomes
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Postoperative quality of recovery is crucial for patient outcomes.
• The Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) is a standard measure for postoperative recovery.
• Validation of translated instruments is essential for diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To translate and psychometrically validate the Croatian version of the QoR-40 questionnaire.
• To assess the validity, reliability, responsiveness, and clinical acceptability of the Croatian QoR-40.
• To provide a reliable tool for measuring postoperative recovery in the Croatian population.

Main Methods:

• Translation and cultural adaptation of the QoR-40 questionnaire.
• Administration of QoR-40, SF-36, and VAS to patients undergoing general anesthesia.
• Psychometric evaluation including validity (convergent, construct), reliability (internal consistency, split-half), and responsiveness.

Main Results:

• High internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.93) and split-half reliability (0.87) for the global QoR-40.
• Significant correlations between QoR-40, VAS, SF-36 PCS/MCS, and length of hospital stay.
• Demonstrated responsiveness with a Cohen's effect size of 0.81 and standardized response mean of 0.762.

Conclusions:

• The translated Croatian QoR-40 is a valid, reliable, and comprehensive instrument.
• It exhibits psychometric properties comparable to the original QoR-40.
• This validated questionnaire can be used to assess postoperative recovery in the Croatian surgical patient population.