Validation of the Dutch Version of the BODY-Q Measuring Appearance, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Experience of Healthcare in Patients Undergoing Bariatric and Body Contouring Surgery

Background: The BODY-Q is a patient-reported outcome measure developed for use in bariatric and body contouring surgery.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Dutch version of the BODY-Q.

Methods: The BODY-Q consists of 163 items in 21 independently functioning scales that measure appearance, health-related quality of life, and experience of care. The data used to validate the Dutch BODY-Q were provided by 2 prospective multicenter cohort studies across 3 hospitals in the Netherlands. The BODY-Q was administered before and after surgery at 3 or 4 months and 12 months. Rasch measurement theory (RMT) analysis was used to evaluate the BODY-Q for targeting, category threshold order, Rasch model fit, Person Separation Index, and differential item functioning by language (original English data vs Dutch data).

Results: Data were collected between January 2016 and May 2019. The study included 876 participants, who provided 1614 assessments. Validity was supported by 3 RMT findings: most scales showed good targeting, 160 out of 163 items (98.2%) evidenced ordered thresholds, and 142 out of 163 items (87.1%) fitted the RMT model. Reliability was high with Person Separation Index values >0.70 for 19 out of 21 scales. There was negligible influence of differential item functioning by language on person item locations and the scale scoring.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the reliability and validity of the Dutch BODY-Q for use in bariatric and body contouring patients in the Netherlands. The Dutch BODY-Q can be used in (inter)national research and clinical practice.