Rustam Shakhaliev1 · Nikita Kubin1 · Tatiana Nikitina1 · Tatiana Ionova1 · Alex Digesu2 · Dmitry Shkarupa1
1 Saint Petersburg State University Hospital, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
2 St. Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College NHS Trust, London, UK
Introduction and hypothesis The objective was to validate the translated Russian version of the prolapse quality-of-life (P-QoL) questionnaire and test its applicability to assess the impact of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) on QoL and the efect of treatment in women undergoing reconstructive surgery.1 Saint Petersburg State University Hospital, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
2 St. Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College NHS Trust, London, UK
Methods Following a forward- and back-translation of the original English P-QOL questionnaire into Russian, the translated questionnaire was reviewed by a group of patients as well as an expert panel. Women with POP who were admitted to a university hospital for reconstructive surgery were recruited. All the women completed the P-QoL questionnaire, Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI-20) and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) questionnaires before surgery. Clinical data and POP Quantifcation (POP-Q) Index according to the International Continence Society were obtained. Psychometric properties of the questionnaire were assessed.
Results A total of 303 women with POP were included in the study. Most patients presented with POP-Q >2. The P-QoL questionnaire demonstrated good psychometric properties. High internal consistency was shown in all domains (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient from 0.65 to 0.92). The test–retest reliability confirmed a highly significant stability between the total scores for each domain. Significant correlations of the P-QoL domains with the PFDI-20 and SF-36 scales (p < 0.05) were obtained, demonstrating satisfactory convergent validity. Discriminative construct validity was proved by the differences in the mean scores for P-QoL domains across POP-Q stages (p < 0.05): general health perceptions, role limitations, physical limitations, social limitations and severity measures were significantly higher for POP-Q stages 3 and 4 than for POP-Q stage 2 (p<0.01); general health perceptions and severity measures were higher for POP-Q stage 4 than for POP-Q stage 3 (p < 0.05); sleep/energy was higher for POP-Q stage 3 than for POP-Q stage 2 (p < 0.05). Significant improvement of QoL in the 2 months after surgery (p < 0.05) indicated that the P-QoL questionnaire is sensitive to change. Conclusions The Russian version of the P-QoL questionnaire is characterized by appropriate psychometric properties. The P-QoL questionnaire is a useful tool for describing the QoL profle in women with POP before reconstructive surgery and evaluating treatment outcomes after the procedure.
Keywords Quality of life · Pelvic organ prolapse · Reconstructive surgery · Questionnaire · Validity · Reliability · Responsiveness