Development and Reliability of the THAICLEFT Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children with Cleft Lip/Palate and Families
Niramol Patjanasoontorn MD*, Suteera Pradubwong MSc**, Siriporn Mongkoltawornchai MSc**, Tharinee Phetcharat MSc **, Bowornsilp Chowchuen MD***
Affiliation : * Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand ** Surgery and Orthopedic Division of Nursing, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand *** Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Objective : The objective of this study was to develop and test the reliability of the THAICLEFT Quality of Life (QoL)
questionnaire for families of children coping with the problems associated with cleft lip/palate (CLP).
Material and Method: After reviewing the literature on QoL measurements, the THAICLEFT QoL questionnaire was
developed. The 27 families registered with the Tawanchai CLP service registry completed the questionnaire.
Results : The Cronbach’s alpha, i.e., the internal consistency and reliability, of 24 Quality of Life questionnaires was calculated.
Values > 0.7 are considered acceptable and the value of the THAICLEFT QoL questionnaire was 0.861.
Conclusion : Using the THAICLEFT QoL questionnaire can help the healthcare provider to support parents and understand
whether they are able to care for the patients and their psycho-economic needs.
Keywords : Quality of life, Psyhco-economic needs, Cleft lip, Cleft palate, CLP
