Introduction

The FETCH questionnaire is a validated instrument for measuring Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in dogs with cardiac disease. However, the specific version has not been translated for use in Spanish-speaking pet owners and properly validated.

Objectives

The aim of this multi-center study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the FETCH questionnaire and validate their use in Spanish-speaking pet owners.

Methods

Following forward and back translation of the FETCH questionnaire to the Spanish language, the readability was evaluated using the Flesch-Kincaid test. Content and face validity was assessed by non-expert and colleague feedback. Criterion-related validity was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation analysis of International Small Animal Cardiac Health Council (ISACHC) and FETCH-SV2 Score. Construct validity was performed using Spearman's rank correlation analysis of individual items and FETCH-SV2 Score. The test-retest was evaluated with intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Wilcoxon rank test; internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach-alpha. The questionnaire was named FETCH-SV2.

Results

The face and content validity of the FETCH-SV2 questionnaire were appropriate and the read at a tenth-grade level. After pre-testing, the questionnaire was answered by 43 owners of dogs with heart disease. Correlation between FETCH-SV2 Score and ISACHC for criterion-related validity (rho=0.42; p<0.001). Comparison of each item and overall quality-of-life score ranged from a rho of 0.07 to 0.74 for construct validity (p<0.05). The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC=0.77) was appropriate (p<0.001), there were no differences between baseline response and responses recorded two weeks later (p=0.40). Cronbach alpha was modest (α=0.80).

Conclusion

The FETCH-SV2 questionnaire is valid for use with Spanish-speaking owners of dogs with cardiac diseases. However, the responsiveness is not known at this time.