Shata ZN, El-Kady HM, Ibrahim HK (2015) Reliability and Validity of an Arabic Version of Quality of life - Alzheimer Disease in Alexandria, Egypt. Int J Behav Res Psychol, 3(8), 157-163. 157 http://scidoc.org/IJBRP.php International Journal of Behavioral Research & Psychology (IJBRP) ISSN 2332-3000 Reliability and Validity of an Arabic Version of Quality of life - Alzheimer Disease in Alexandria, Egypt Research Article Shata ZN 1* , El-Kady HM 2 , Ibrahim HK 3 1 Lecturer of Mental Health, High Institute of Public Health (HIPH), Alexandria University, Egypt. 2 Assistant Professor of Geriatric Health, High Institute of Public Health (HIPH), Alexandria University, Egypt. 3 Assistant Professor of Public Health Nursing, High Institute of Public Health (HIPH), Alexandria University, Egypt. *Corresponding Author: Zeinab Nazeeh Shata, Lecturer of Mental Health, High Institute of Public Health (HIPH), Al- exandria University, Egypt. Tel: +2 01007978715 E-mail: zeinab.shata@yahoo.com Received: August 20, 2015 Accepted: October 15, 2015 Published: October 19, 2015 Citation: Shata ZN, El-Kady HM, Ibrahim HK (2015) Reliability and Validity of an Arabic Version of Quality of life - Alzheimer Disease in Alexandria, Egypt. Int J Behav Res Psychol, 3(8), 157-163. Copyright: Shata ZN © 2015. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Introduction Dementia is currently recognized as a major public health chal- lenge in both developed and developing countries attributed to the increased ageing of populations [1]. In a meta-analysis study [2] to estimate the prevalence of demen- tia from 1980 to 2009, worldwide rates were 5%-7% for those aged ≥ 60 years. In 2010, the number of people with dementia was estimated to be 35.6 million worldwide, and this number is expected to almost double every 20 years. Meanwhile, 58% of all people with dementia lived in low or middle income countries, and this percentage is expected to increase to 63% in 2030 and 71% in 2050 [2]. In Egypt, community based surveys on dementia reported preva- lence rates that ranged from 1.4% to 21.95%. Dementia rates in Egypt increases markedly with the older ages [3-5]. The mean age-adjusted prevalence estimate in Egypt is 4.5% [1]. Health related quality of life is considered the main goal for health promotion among elderly in general [6]. The increasing number of elderly means that quality of life (QoL) among people with dementia in the coming years will attract more attention. With no cure to dementia, the main concern becomes how to maximize QoL in people living with dementia [7, 8]. Moreover, several stud- ies considered QoL as a highly important outcome measure in the management of dementia [7, 9, 10]. Review of literature indicated that all reports on the QoL in peo- ple with dementia came from the work of Lawton in 1991 [8]. Lawton [11] stressed the multidimensionality of the QoL and the need to assess it subjectively as well as objectively. Several in- struments based on Lawton's model of QoL were designed to measure QoL in dementia patients. They varied in content, type of respondent, administration method, and targeted population [12]. There is a continuing debate on the validity and meaningful- ness of the self-report of quality of life by people with dementia due to concerns about memory and other cognitive impairments inluence on the ‘accuracy’ of reporting [13-15]. Logsdon et al, [16] included patient and proxy appraisal in their Quality of life- Alzheimer Disease (QoL-AD) scale which assesses several QoL domains: physical condition, mood, interpersonal relationships, ability to participate in activities, and inancial condition. Abstract Objectives: Quality of life has been currently recognized as a highly important outcome measure in the management of dementia. This work aimed to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic-translation of Quality of life-Alzheimer Disease scale (QoL-AD) for patient and caregiver reports in Alexandria, Egypt. Methods: A total of 100 patient-caregiver dyads who attended the psycho-geriatric out-patient clinic of El-Mammora Mental Hospital in Alexandria participated in a cross sectional study. Tools included the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Katz Index for Activities of Daily Living (ADL), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the QoL-AD. Results: Both patients and caregivers reports showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coeficient > 0.70). The correlation between patient and caregiver ratings was very good (Rho= 0.75, p≤ 0.001). All validity measures used (PHQ-9, ADL) revealed good convergent validity of the Arabic version. The principal component factor analysis sup- ported the construct validity of the scale. Conclusion: The Arabic version of QoL-AD is a reliable and valid tool in people with dementia with a MMSE of 10 or higher. Keywords: QoL-AD; Dementia; Quality of Life; Alzheimer Disease; Reliability and Validity.