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

Emerging risks at work may be caused by new information and communication technologies, such as computers. While they enhance productivity, computers can also cause new health issues in workers, such as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).

To culturally adapt and evaluate the validity evidence of the Computer Vision Syndrome Questionnaire (CVS-Q©) for adult Colombian computer-using workers from the Rasch model approach.

A quantitative, observational, cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted with a sample of 300 computer-using workers from a public university in Colombia in 2022. Rasch analyses were performed to fit response categories, items, and individuals; examine differential item functioning (DIF), dimensionality, and local independence of items; determine reliability; and produce the item-person map.

The CVS-Q (Colombia)© response format was adjusted to meet Linacre's guidelines for optimizing rating scale categories. All items showed infit and outfit mean-square values within the expected range. The scale was unidimensional, and the Rasch measurement explained 35.90% of the variance. Person reliability was 0.77, internal consistency was 0.88, and temporal stability reliability was 0.86.

The CVS-Q (Colombia)© assesses the frequency, intensity, and severity of sixteen signs and symptoms of CVS.

The CVS-Q (Colombia)© is a valid and reliable scale for measuring the severity of CVS symptoms in Colombian workers.