Glaucoma symptom assessment tool deemed psychometrically valid


J Glaucoma. 2011;20(3):148-159.

  • April 12, 2011

A tool designed to assess the impact of glaucoma symptoms on a patient's quality of life was found to be psychometrically valid, according to a study.

Researchers evaluated the Glaucoma Symptom Identifier (GSI) to demonstrate that glaucoma is not asymptomatic in terms of visual function and quality of life. They administered a cross-sectional online survey to 718 people who were at least 40 years old and self-identified as having been diagnosed with glaucoma. Participants were asked to rank the degree of difficulty they experience during certain tasks.

According to the study, the GSI showed good reliability, as well as convergent and discriminant validity when compared with the SF-12 Health Survey, "a well-validated measure of general health status."

Researchers identified potential improvements to the questionnaire using item response theory.

"It is hoped that with this information patients and physicians alike can work together as a team to properly identify symptoms that are important to the patient and then follow the appropriate treatment to prevent disease progression," the authors said.

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