生活期失語症者のためのQOL尺度の開発

Development of a QOL questionnaire for persons with chronic aphasia

　失語症のリハビリテーションの目標はQOLの向上であり，近年，失語症者のQOL研究が散見されるようになった．失語症者は疾患特異的尺度を用いることが適しているが，重度者も実施可能なQOL尺度はない．そこで，本研究では幅広い生活期の失語症者に適用可能なQOL尺度として，健康と直接関連のあるQOLのモデルを基に開発したLife Stage Aphasia QOL Scale(以下，LAQOL)について，その信頼性と妥当性を検証することを目的とする．対象者は失語症デイサービスに通う53名(男性38名，女性15名)である．結果，LAQOLは52名(98.1％)の対象者が回答可能であった．調査項目間の相関分析により選択した11項目について，内的整合性と基準関連妥当性を検討した．Cronbachのα係数は0.86，Stroke and Aphasia QOL Scale-39-Jとの基準関連妥当性はr＝0.75と有意な相関を示した．本研究で作成したLAQOL-11は，短時間で実施可能でありかつ重度な失語症者を含めた多くの失語症者を対象とすることができ，臨床上有用性が高いことが示唆された．

　The goal of social approaches for persons with aphasia (PWA) is to improve their quality of life (QOL). However, there have been few QOL studies for PWA in Japan. Most PWA cannot respond to the usual QOL questionnaires because of their comprehension difficulties. In this study, we developed a new QOL rating scale (Life stage Aphasia QOL scale: LAQOL) that is comprehensible to most PWA and investigated its reliability and validity. The subjects were 53 PWA (38 males and 15 females) who attend a day-care center, and all but 1 (52 subjects, 98.1%) were able to respond to LAQOL. Based on the correlation analysis of surveyed items, 11 items were selected. Cronbach's alpha was 0.86, which indicates that the scale has high internal consistency. The correlation coefficient of LAQOL and the Stroke and Aphasia QOL Scale-39-J was 0.75. The time required for answering LAQOL-11 was about 10 minutes. LAQOL-11 could be performed in a short time and used with most PWA, including those with severe aphasia. The clinical usefulness of the new scale is thought to be high.