A study of the psychometric properties of the Brazilian...Portuguese version of Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION AND

OBJECTIVE

The Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire (BHQ) is a simple, repeatable, and self-reporting health status questionnaire for bronchiectasis. This study aims to cross-culturally adapt the BHQ into Brazilian Portuguese and evaluate its measurement properties.

METHODS

The participants answered the Saint George...s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale for dyspnea. The Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire (BHQ-Brazil) was used at baseline (test) and after 14 days (retest). The psychometric analyses included internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity: factorial validity, convergent validity, and discriminative validity, agreement, and ceiling and floor effects.

RESULTS

The BHQ-Brazil demonstrated adequate internal consistency (Cronbach...s alpha...=...0.92) and substantial reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient...=...0.86; 95%CI: 0.79...0.90). The exploratory factorial analysis was considered suitable. All items presented a factorial load >0.40. The convergent validity of the BHQ-Brazil with mMRC was moderate (r...=......0.53, p...<...0.001), while concurrent validity with the SGRQ was strong (symptoms: r...=......0.72, activities: r...=......0.60, impact: r...=......0.60, total score: r...=......0.75, all p...<...0.001). The standard error of measurement was 4.81 points. The discriminative validity demonstrated that individuals with more pulmonary exacerbations, colonization by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, worst dyspnea, and a higher number of affected lung lobes presented the lowest quality of life. No floor or ceiling effects were observed.

CONCLUSION

The BHQ-Brazil presents adequate measurement properties to evaluate the impact of bronchiectasis on health-related quality of life, and can be used in clinical and research settings.