ral Health and Quality of Life Outcomes ssBioMed Cent Open AcceShort report Utility of WHOQOL-BREF in measuring quality of life in Sickle Cell Disease

Background: Sickle cell disease is the commonest genetic disorder in Jamaica and most likely exerts numerous effects on quality of life (QOL) of those afflicted with it. The WHOQOL-Bref, which is a commonly utilized generic measure of quality of life, has never previously been utilized in this population. We have sought to study its utility in this disease population. Methods: 491 patients with sickle cell disease were administered the questionnaire including demographics, WHOQOL-Bref, Short Form-36 (SF-36), Flanagan's quality of life scale (QOLS) and measures of disease severity at their routine health maintenance visits to the sickle cell unit. Internal consistency reliabilities, construct validity and "known groups " validity of the WHOQOL-Bref, and its domains, were examined; and then compared to those of the other instruments. Results: All three instruments had good internal consistency, ranging from 0.70 to 0.93 for the WHOQOL-Bref (except the 'social relationships ' domain), 0.86–0.93 for the SF-36 and 0.88 for the QOLS. None of the instruments showed any marked floor or ceiling effects except the SF-36 'physical health ' and 'role limitations ' domains. The WHOQOL-Bref scale also had moderate concurrent validity and showed strong "known groups " validity