Outcome measurement for COPD: Reliability and validity of the Dyspnea Management Questionnaire

SummaryBackgroundThe Dyspnea Management Questionnaire (DMQ) is a measure of the psychosocial and behavioral responses to dyspnea for adults with COPD. The research objectives were to evaluate the reliability and validity of an expanded DMQ item pool, as a preliminary step for developing a computer adaptive test.MethodsThe original 66 items of the DMQ were used for the analyses. The sample included 63 women and 44 men with COPD (n = 107) recruited from two urban medical centers. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test the factor structure of the DMQ and its underlying cognitive-behavioral theoretical base. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability, and breadth of coverage of the expanded DMQ item bank were also evaluated.ResultsFive distinct dyspnea domains were confirmed using 56 original items of the DMQ: dyspnea intensity, dyspnea anxiety, activity avoidance, activity self-efficacy, and strategy satisfaction. Overall, the breadth of items was excellent with a good match between sample scores and item difficulty. The DMQ-56 showed good internal consistency reliability (α = 0.85–to 0.96) and good preliminary test–retest reliability over a 3-week interval (ICC = 0.69–0.92).ConclusionsThe DMQ demonstrated acceptable levels of reliability and validity for measuring multidimensional dyspnea outcomes after medical, psychological, and behavioral interventions for adults with COPD.