Development of Korean Version of WHO Quality of Life Scale Abbreviated Version (WHOQOL-BREF)

Min, Sung Kil; Lee, Chang Il; Kim, Kwang Il; Suh, Shin Young; Kim, Dong Kee

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
This study proposed to develop the Korean version of the WHO Quality of Life Scale Abbreviated Version (WHOQOL-BREF) and to test the validity and reliability of the Korean version of WHOQOL-BREF compared with the Korean version of WHOQOL. METHOD: The Korean version of the WHOQOL-BREF, which was developed according to WHO guidelines, was piloted on 538 respondents, including 171 medical patients from outpatient clinics at Severance hospital and 367 healthy subjects. A total of 489 respondents completed the study. To assess the test-retest reliability, 113 subjects repeated the rating within a 3-week interval.
RESULTS
Correlations for test-retest reliability in all item scores of Korean versions of the WHOQOL and WHOQOL-BREF were highly significant (p< .0001). Differences between domain scores of the Korean version of the WHOQOL-BREF and those of the Korean version of WHOQOL were very small (mean differences=0.49). Domain scores produced by the Korean version of WHOQOL-BREF correlated significantly (p< .0001) with those of the WHOQOL. Cronbach alpha values were 0.898 and values for each domain were also high (0.583-0.777), which demonstrated good internal consistency. As for determining discriminant validity, scores were compared between gender, age groups, education levels, marital status, and health status. Differences in education levels and health status were statistically significant. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that four domain structures were appropriate (Bentler's comparative fit index: 0.859). For overall quality of life, the contribution of physical health domain was highest, followed by psychological and environmental domains.
CONCLUSION
This study shows that the Korean version of the WHOQOL-BREF is a reliable and available test for assessing quality of life.