Validity and reliability of the Mandarin version of the Treatment Burden Questionnaire among stroke patients in Mainland China.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the validity and reliability of the Mandarin version of the Treatment Burden Questionnaire (TBQ) among stroke patients.

BACKGROUND: Stroke patients need long-term management of symptoms and life situation, and treatment burden has recently emerged as a new concept that can influence the health outcomes during the rehabilitation process.

METHODS: The convenience sampling method was used to recruit 187 cases of stroke patients in a tertiary grade hospital in Tianjin for a formal investigation. Item analysis, reliability and validity tests were carried out. The reliability test included internal consistency and test-retest reliability. And as well as content, structure and convergent validity were performed for the validity test.

RESULTS: Of the 187 completed questionnaires, only 180 (96.3%) were suitable for analysis. According to the experts' evaluation, the I-CVI of each item was from 0.833 to 1.000, and the S-CVI was 0.967. The exploratory factor analysis yielded three-factor components with a cumulative variation of 53.054%. Convergent validity was demonstrated using measures of Morisky's Medication Adherence Scale 8 (r = -0.450, P < 0.01). All correlations between items and global scores ranged from 0.403 to 0.638. Internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were found to be acceptable, as indicated by a Cronbach's α of 0.824 and an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.846, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The Mandarin TBQ had acceptable validity and reliability. The use of TBQ in the assessment of treatment burden of stroke survivor may benefit health resources allocation and provide tailor therapeutic interventions to construct minimally disruptive care.