Validity and reliability of Persian version of infants’ dermatitis quality of life index (IDQOL) questionnaire

Background: Atopic dermatitis is the most common inflammatory skin disease in children. Severe itching may lead to an impaired quality of life in the patients. In this study, we evaluated the validity and reliability of Persian version of a questionnaire regarding the infants’ dermatitis quality of life in children suffering from atopic dermatitis. Methods: When the original authors approved of the Persian version of the questionnaire, the parents completed the questionnaire for their 98 children with atopic dermatitis aged less than four years. We analyzed the data by SPSS 16. Cronbach’s alpha and inter-item and calculated the correlations to evaluate the reliability and validity via Kaiser criterion and scree plot. Results: The calculated mean score of questionnaire was 9.65±5.41. The first (itching and scratching) and eight questions (treatment problems) obtained the highest and lowest scores, respectively. There was a strong, positive correlation between the severity of the disease and the quality of life score in the patients. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated as 0.88 which is a sign of good internal consistency of the items. The inter-item correlative coefficients varied between -0.004 to 0.87. We used Kaiser’s criterion and scree plot to evaluate the validity and achieve a two-factor solution. Conclusion: Persian version of infants’ dermatitis quality of life index questionnaire was valid and reliable.