Measurement Properties of the Swedish Empowerment Audiology Questionnaire: A Rasch Analysis

Area of Science:

• Audiology and Hearing Science
• Psychometrics and Measurement
• Rehabilitation and Health Outcomes

Background:

• Hearing loss is a prevalent global condition impacting daily life and necessitating person-centered rehabilitation.
• The Empowerment Audiology Questionnaire (EmpAQ) assesses client empowerment in hearing rehabilitation.
• The Swedish version (EmpAQ SWE) requires further validation of its construct validity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the construct validity of the Swedish Empowerment Audiology Questionnaire (EmpAQ SWE).
• To assess the psychometric properties of the EmpAQ-15 and EmpAQ-5 in a Swedish population with hearing loss.
• To confirm the EmpAQ SWE's suitability for measuring self-reported empowerment in audiology.

Main Methods:

• A digital survey was administered to 1,176 adults with hearing loss, with 152 participants responding.
• Participants completed the EmpAQ-15 and EmpAQ-5 questionnaires.
• Rasch analysis was employed to evaluate item targeting, fit, differential item functioning (DIF), local dependency (LD), unidimensionality, and reliability.

Main Results:

• The EmpAQ SWE demonstrated acceptable measurement properties, including adequate item targeting and distinguishing approximately three empowerment levels.
• Unidimensionality was supported, indicating the instrument measures a single construct.
• Some items showed misfit (EmpAQ-15 Item 6) or DIF (EmpAQ-5 Item 1), and local dependency was noted within dimensions.

Conclusions:

• The EmpAQ SWE possesses acceptable psychometric properties, validating its use for assessing empowerment in Swedish individuals with hearing loss.
• Results align with the original English EmpAQ, supporting its clinical relevance.
• Item-level refinements are recommended to enhance the instrument's measurement precision.