Psychometric properties of the Chinese quality of life instrument (HK version) in Chinese and Western medicine primary care settings

The Chinese Quality of Life Measure (ChQOL) had only been validated on a small number of selected subjects in Hong Kong and
had never been tested in the Western medicine (WM) primary care setting.

To test the psychometrics properties of ChQOL(HK version) in both TCM and WM general outpatient clinics.

Three samples of Chinese adult patients [(1) 569 consulting TCM clinics for episodic illnesses; (2) 524 consulting WM clinics
for episodic illnesses; (3) 205 consulting WM clinics for chronic disease follow-up] in Hong Kong were invited to complete
the ChQOL(HK version) and the SF-36 Health Survey during their consultations and 2 weeks after consultations. The scaling
assumptions, factor structure, convergent construct validity, reliability, responsiveness, and discriminatory power of the
ChQOL were evaluated.

Majority of items satisfied the scaling assumptions. A two instead of 3-factor structure was found with physical form and
emotion facets loading on one factor. Convergent construct validity was confirmed with moderate correlations with SF-36 scores.
Internal consistency and test–retest reliability were satisfactory. The ChQOL(HK version) was able to detect significant improvements
2 weeks after consultations, and it was able to discriminate between groups with different illness severity, age, and sex.

The ChQOL(HK version) was shown to have satisfactory validity, reliability, discriminatory power, and responsiveness in both
TCM and Western medicine primary care settings. The validity of the 3-domain scaling structure needs further evaluation.