Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: The McMonnies Dry Eye Questionnaire has been considered a "gold standard" for examining dry eye symptoms in disease conditions. The validity of the theory behind the questions and the questionnaire's usefulness in clinical settings has been clearly demonstrated in numerous research articles. However, there are no studies examining the actual reliability, that is, the psychometric consistency of the test. Since clinical populations by definition have a variable condition, reliability of a health scale is often hard to demonstrate. Therefore, the aim of this study was to demonstrate reliability of this questionnaire in a relatively normal population. Method: The McMonnies Dry Eye Questionnaire was administered on a single occasion to 1005 subjects (M= 400; F=605: Mean age =37± 13) attending a university eye research clinic to determine their suitability for contact lens wear. Data were collected over a 3 year period. 33% of the subjects were current contact lens wearers and 67% never had worn contact lenses. Internal consistency for items was determined by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Results: An overall reliability coefficient was estimated as .6684 (Chronbach's Alpha) based upon 12 items. Overall mean McMonnies score was 7 ± 4SD. Conclusion: The McMonnies Dry Eye Questionnaire is a statistically reliable instrument and practitioners can feel confident that the questionnaire provides a consistent and repeatable measurement.
Keywords: 359 clinical research methodology • 376 cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • 367 contact lens