Validation of the Arabic version of the quality of life impact of refractive correction questionnaire

PURPOSE: To validate the Arabic version of the quality of life impact of refractive correction (QIRC) questionnaire. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study included participants with refractive errors (myopia, hypermetropia, or astigmatism) aged between 19 and 40 years who were pre or postrefractive surgeries. Uncorrected distance visual acuity, refraction, and corneal topography were collected. The 20-item QIRC questionnaire was translated to the Arabic language and then back translated to the English language. Participants were asked to answer all items of the Arabic QIRC. The validity and reliability of the translated questionnaire were tested using Rasch analysis. RESULTS: A total of 145 participants with refractive errors participated in this study. The mean age ± standard deviation of participants was 26.29 ± 5.1 years. Person separation (2.01) and reliability (0.80) indicates good precision and stability of the Arabic QIRC questionnaire. Item infit was ranged between 0.82 and 1.23; and item outfit was range between 0.76 and 1.32. The items were well targeted to the persons with a mean difference of 0.30. Skew and kurtosis values were within the normal limits (−2.00 to + 2.00). Cronbach's α for the scale was 0.79, which indicates good reliability of the Arabic 20-item QIRC. CONCLUSION: The Arabic 20-item QIRC questionnaire is a valid tool to assess the impact of refractive correction on Arabian participants’ quality of life.