Validity and reliability evidence for the bronchiectasis health questionnaire in a sample of Turkish adults with...

The Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire (BHQ), a 10-question instrument designed to assess quality of life and disease-specific issues, was developed in 11 languages, including English. The present study aims to translate the original version of the BHQ into Turkish using a standardised methodology and to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the BHQ.

This cross-sectional study was conducted at Giresun Training and Research Hospital between August 2024 and January 2025, with ethical approval (decision number 03.07.2024/03) and informed consent from all participants. A total of 132 clinically stable participants with bronchiectasis were enrolled. The study was performed in two stages: (1) cross-cultural adaptation of the original Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire (BHQ) into Turkish (T-BHQ) according to established guidelines, and (2) psychometric validation of the T-BHQ. Alongside the T-BHQ, data on socio-demographics, clinical characteristics, mMRC dyspnea score, pulmonary function tests, Bronchiectasis Severity Index (BSI), SF-12 quality of life questionnaire, and exacerbation history were collected. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest analysis, while construct validity was evaluated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, convergent validity with clinical measures, and Bland-Altman analysis.

The validity and reliability of the T-BHQ were evaluated in present study involving a total of 134 participants with bronchiectasis, and a Cronbach's alpha of 0.729 was obtained. In the exploratory factorial analysis, factorial loadings of > 0.40 were determined for all items and were evaluated as appropriate. Utilising the Bland-Altman analysis to assess the test's repeatability, (mean difference: 0,059, β = 0.03, p:0.840). The convergent validity of the T-BHQ with mMRC was strong (r = - 0.648, p:< 0.001), with BSI were moderate (r: -0,437, p:<0,001), while concurrent validity with SF-12 subtypes mainly were at a moderate level (Physical role functioning: r = - 0.661 p:<0.001, other subtypes at a moderate level).

The T-BHQ has been demonstrated to possess both reliability and validity in evaluating the disease-related quality of life and health status of participants with bronchiectasis in Turkey.