Purpose: To report on the content generation and item refinement phases for a myopia refractive intervention-specific quality-of-life (QoL) item bank that will be operationalized using computerized adaptive testing.
Methods: Myopia refractive intervention-specific QoL domains and items were generated from (1) a literature search of existing refractive-intervention QoL questionnaires; (2) semistructured interviews with myopic patients corrected using spectacles, contact lenses and/or refractive surgery (n = 32); (3) and myopia experts (n = 9) recruited from the Singapore National Eye Centre. After a thematic analysis, items were systematically refined and tested using cognitive interviews with 24 additional patients with corrected myopia.
Results: Of the 32 participants with myopia interviewed (mean ± standard deviation age, 35.6 ± 9.0 years; 71.9% female; 78.1% Chinese), 12 (37.5%) wore spectacles, 7 (21.9%) used contact lenses, and 20 (62.5%) had undergone laser refractive surgery. Initially, 912 items within 7 independent QoL domains were identified. After refinement, 204 items were retained, including those relating to mobility challenges and work-related difficulties that are not well-represented in current refractive intervention-specific questionnaires.
Conclusions: Through a rigorous item generation and selection process, we have developed a 204-item and 7-domain myopia refractive intervention-specific item bank that will now undergo rigorous psychometric testing to generate item calibrations for the validation of a novel computerized adaptive testing instrument designed for use in research and routine clinical practice.
Translational relevance: Once psychometrically validated and operationalized using computerized adaptive testing, this myopia refractive intervention-specific instrument will enable researchers and clinicians to quickly and comprehensively assess the impact of myopic refractive interventions across seven QoL domains.