Turkish language validity and reliability of the severe asthma Questionnaire (SAQ)

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Clinical Psychology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Severe asthma significantly impacts patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
• Accurate HRQoL assessment is crucial for effective severe asthma management.
• The Severe Asthma Questionnaire (SAQ) is a validated tool for HRQoL assessment in severe asthma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Severe Asthma Questionnaire (TR-SAQ).
• To assess the concurrent validity of the TR-SAQ against other established Turkish asthma assessment tools.
• To provide a culturally adapted and validated HRQoL instrument for Turkish severe asthma patients.

Main Methods:

• A multi-center, prospective observational study involving 197 severe asthma patients on biologic therapy.
• Translation and cultural adaptation of the SAQ into Turkish (TR-SAQ).
• Administration of TR-SAQ, Asthma Control Test (ACT), Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ), and pulmonary function tests.
• TR-SAQ re-administration for test-retest reliability assessment (14 days ± 2).
• Validity and reliability assessed using Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) criteria.

Main Results:

• The TR-SAQ demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.955) and excellent test-retest reliability (r = 0.785, p < 0.001).
• Factorability was supported by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (0.93) and Bartlett's test (p < 0.001).
• Significant correlations were found between TR-SAQ total scores and ACT (r = 0.597, p < 0.001) and AQLQ (r = 0.727, p < 0.001), confirming concurrent validity.
• No significant differences in TR-SAQ scores were observed based on gender, BMI, or comorbidities.

Conclusions:

• The Turkish version of the Severe Asthma Questionnaire (TR-SAQ) is a valid, reliable, and culturally appropriate tool for assessing HRQoL in severe asthma patients.
• TR-SAQ can be confidently used by Turkish healthcare professionals for the clinical assessment and management of severe asthma.
• This validated instrument enhances the ability to measure HRQoL outcomes in the Turkish severe asthma population.