Journal Outcomes Research

The development of UK and Canadian English versions of the Incontinence Quality of Life Index

Abstract
The Incontinence Quality of Life Index (IQoLI) was developed in Sweden from interviews with women with urinary urge incontinence. It has been shown to be consistent, reliable, valid and responsive to change in quality of life associated with improvements in symptoms. The present paper describes the development and testing of English and Canadian adaptations of the instrument. Both new versions of the IQoLI are shown to be acceptable to, and easily completed by, patients and to have good psychometric properties, with high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Scores on the IQoLI correlate as expected with generic measures of health status and the instruments are capable of distinguishing groups of patients according to their perceived health and incontinence-related discomfort.