CATQUEST QUESTIONNAIRE FOR USE IN CATARACT-SURGERY CARE - DESCRIPTION, VALIDITY, AND RELIABILITY

Purpose: To describe and evaluate the Catquest self-assessment questio nnaire for cataract patients. Setting: Thirty-five Swedish departments of ophthalmology. Methods: The Catquest is designed to be used by cat aract surgeons for continuous quality control regarding appropriatenes s and outcome of surgery. It is administered before and after cataract surgery. The questionnaire focuses on visual disabilities in daily li fe, activity level, cataract symptoms, and degree of independence. The results are interpreted using a benefit matrix that credits not only a decrease in visual disabilities and cataract symptoms but also an im provement or a maintenance of a preoperative activity level. The quest ionnaire was used by consecutive patients having surgery during March 1995 at the participating surgical units. Results: A full range of res ponses was given to all questions. A strong relationship was found bet ween patients' responses to questions about visual disabilities in dai ly life and their general opinion about vision (P < .001). The answers showed a high stability when test-retest reliability was evaluated an d a high internal consistency when different questions about visual di sabilities were compared (P < .001). The answers from cataract patient s before surgery were significantly different from those of a control group that did not have cataract (P < .0001). Conclusion: The Catquest had high validity and reliability when used as a disease-specific ins trument testing visual disabilities in patients having cataract extrac tion.