Cultural adaptation and validation of the Computer Vision Syndrome Questionnaire in Colombia

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Psychometrics
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Emerging workplace risks include new information and communication technologies like computers.
• Computers, while boosting productivity, can lead to health issues such as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).
• The Computer Vision Syndrome Questionnaire (CVS-Q) is used to assess CVS, but requires cultural adaptation and validation for specific populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To culturally adapt the Computer Vision Syndrome Questionnaire (CVS-Q©) for adult Colombian computer users.
• To evaluate the validity evidence of the adapted CVS-Q© using the Rasch model approach.
• To ensure the questionnaire accurately measures Computer Vision Syndrome in a Colombian context.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative, observational, cross-sectional study involved 300 Colombian computer users.
• Rasch analyses were employed to assess response categories, items, individuals, differential item functioning (DIF), dimensionality, and local independence.
• Reliability was determined, and an item-person map was generated.

Main Results:

• The CVS-Q (Colombia)© response format was optimized according to Linacre's guidelines.
• All items demonstrated acceptable infit and outfit mean-square values.
• The scale was found to be unidimensional, explaining 35.90% of the variance, with strong reliability (person reliability 0.77, internal consistency 0.88, temporal stability 0.86).

Conclusions:

• The adapted CVS-Q (Colombia)© is a valid and reliable instrument.
• It effectively measures the frequency, intensity, and severity of Computer Vision Syndrome symptoms.
• This tool is suitable for assessing CVS severity in Colombian workers.