Development and validation of a quality‐of‐life scale for Chinese patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a quality of life (QoL) scale for Chinese patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). PATIENTS AND METHODS: According to the QoL definition of the World Health Organisation, we adhered to the rigorous guidelines of instrument development to form a pool of items, selected items and validated the scale, using data from 256 patients with BPH. RESULTS: A 74-item QoL scale for BPH (prior test version; BPH-QLS), including five domains (disease, physical, social, psychological, satisfaction) was developed and had good reliability and validity. The test-retest correlation coefficient and Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the BPH-QLS were 0.892 and 0.966. Thirteen common factors were extracted according to the conceptual model. The correlations of the BPH-QLS with the Short Form-36, the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and IPSS QoL score, and a published BPH-specific QoL scale were 0.784, 0.493, 0.462 and 0.762, respectively. The BPH-QLS could be used to discriminate among patients with a different QoL. CONCLUSION: The new scale is reliable, valid and sensitive, and we recommend using the BPH-QLS in Chinese and Chinese-born patients worldwide to assist in clinical practice.