The refractive status and vision profile - A questionnaire to measure vision-related quality of life in persons with refractive error

Objective/Background: To describe the Refractive Status and Vision Profile (RSVP), a questionnaire that measures self-reported vision-related health s tatus (symptoms, functioning, expectations, concern) in persons with refrac tive error. Design: Cross-sectional study by survey. Participants: The RSVP was self-administered by 550 participants with refra ctive error (or history of refractive surgery) recruited from five refracti ve surgery practices and one optometric practice. Information on refraction , uncorrected and best-corrected visual acuity, and history of refractive s urgery was obtained from physicians' records. Methods: Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, agreement with glob al measures of vision (criterion validity), discriminant validity, content validity, and construct validity (associations of scale scores with patient status variables) were assessed using Cronbach's alpha, Spearman rank corr elations, factor analysis, and multitrait analysis. Outcome Measures: Scores on the overall RSVP scale (S) and on eight RSVP su bscales (functioning, driving, concern, expectations, symptoms, glare, opti cal problems, problems with corrective lenses) were calculated based on 42 items. Results: Cronbach's alpha was 0.92 for S and ranged from 0.70 to 0.93 for R SVP subscales, indicating good internal consistency. Satisfaction with visi on was more strongly associated with S than with refractive error or with v isual acuity. Individuals with more refractive error had significantly lowe r (worse) scores for S and for subscales concern, functioning, driving, opt ical problems, and glare. Scores for S and for subscales concern, functioni ng, optical problems, and driving remained significantly associated with sa tisfaction with vision after adjustment for age, gender, corrective lens ty pe, and refractive error. Conclusions: The RSVP measures a range of visual, functional, and psycholog ic impacts of refractive error that are likely to be important to patients. The RSVP would be a useful tool for evaluating interventions for correctio n of refractive error and may be useful for assessing refractive surgery ca ndidates in clinical practice. Ophthalmology 2000;107:1529-1539 (C) 2000 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.