A Validation and Reliability Study of the Korean Version of National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire 25

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To translate and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire-25 (NEI-VFQ-25). METHODS: Two bilingual ophthalmologists independently translated the original English version of the NEI-VFQ-25 into written Korean. A panel of the Korean Retina Society reviewed the translations to form a single reconciled forward translation of the Korean version of the NEI-VFQ-25. Another ophthalmologist back-translated this first draft into English. Both the first draft and back-translated draft were edited by a professional translator. To evaluate the correlation and validity, results between the original NEI-VFQ-25 and the Korean version, completed by the bilingual participants, were compared. RESULTS: The Korean version of the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire-25 was developed by translation, back-translation, and expert supervision. Results from 23 bilingual participants between the original NEI-VFQ-25 and the Korean version were compared and showed statistically significant correlation, with a Spearman's correlation coefficient of 0.4 or greater. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test results showed no statistically significant differences between the two questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: Translation and validation of the Korean version of the NEI-VFQ-25 was achieved.