A validation study of the Korean version of the swallowing-quality of life scale

Objectives: Although impairment of the swallowing function is a troublesome symptom in the general population, until recently, there has been no instrument for evaluating dysphagia. The aim of this work is to study the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Swallowing-Quality of Life questionnaire (K-SWAL-QOL). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 53 patients, who are clinically diagnosed as neurological or mechanical oropharyngeal dysphagia and have shown consistent symptoms of dysphagia during at least 6 months, was conducted. Fifty-three healthy age matched controls were recruited to evaluate the validity and reliability of K-SWAL-QOL. Among the participants of this study, 5 patients and 5 healthy controls were randomly chosen for the test-retest reliability. Results: Reliability was estimated using tests of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The K-SWAL-QOL was able to differentiate between dysphagic and nondysphagic patients. Construct validity was validated through a factor analysis. The psychometric properties of the K-SWAL-QOL were found to be largely similar to those of the original SWAL-QOL; however, 10 factors are clustered by 7 factors (Mental Health, Social Functioning, Eating Related, General Health, Communication, Burden, and Food Selection). A correlation study of the total score between the K-SWAL-QOL and the SF-36 (The Short Form-36), which is a widely used generic questionnaire for measuring health-related QOL, showed no significant results. Conclusion: K-SWAL-QOL is found to be a clinically valid and reliable tool for assessing the quality of life among Korean individuals with dysphagia. We expect that K-SWAL-QOL will contribute to improve the quality of life for Korean patients with dysphagia in the future.