Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Korean version of the brief illness perception questionnaire for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Background and Aim: The brief illness perception questionnaire (BIPQ) has been used in many populations for both adults and children, and it provides a rapid assessment of illness perception. This study was performed to create a translated version of the BIPQ to fit the Korean society and to test its validity through pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients. Methods: Translation and transcultural adaptation of BIPQ, applicable to the Korean society, was performed in accordance with the international guidelines. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and discrimination validity were evaluated. To assess the discrimination validity, the BIPQ scores were compared between pulmonary TB and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Results: Sixty-eight patients with pulmonary TB participated in this study. Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.753, which indicated satisfactory internal consistency. The concurrent validity showed significant correlations (Pearson's correlation of 0.753). The test-retest reliability was confirmed with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.892. The total score of BIPQ in patients with COPD was significantly higher than that in those with pulmonary TB (37.67 vs. 30.85; P= 0.005), which supported the discrimination validity. Conclusions: The Korean version of BIPQ was found to be a reliable and valid questionnaire for patients with pulmonary TB.