Transcultural Adaptation and Validation of Quality of Dying and Death Questionnaire in Medical Intensive Care Units in South Korea

BACKGROUND: Providing palliative care to dying patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) has recently received much attention. Evaluating the quality of dying and death (QODD) is important for appropriate comfort care in the ICU. This study aimed to validate the Korean version of the QODD questionnaire. METHODS: This study included decedents in the ICUs of three tertiary teaching hospitals and one secondary hospital from June 2016 to May 2017. ICU staff members were asked to complete the translated QODD questionnaire and the visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaire within 48 hours of patient death. The validation process consisted of evaluating construct validity, internal consistency, and interrater reliability. RESULTS: We obtained 416 completed questionnaires describing 255 decedents. The QODD score was positively correlated with the 100-VAS score (Pearson correlation coefficient, 0.348; P<0.001). An evaluation of the internal consistency presented favorable results (calculated Cronbach’s alpha if a given item exceeded 0.8 in all items). The interrater reliability revealed no concordance between doctors and nurses. CONCLUSIONS: The QODD questionnaire was successfully translated and validated in Korean medical ICUs. We hope further studies that use this valuable instrument will be conducted in Korea.