The Family Dermatology Life Quality Index is a questionnaire designed for adult (more than 16 years of age) family members or partners of patients with any skin disease. It is self explanatory and can be simply handed to the patient’s family member/partner who is asked to fill it in without the need for detailed explanation. It is usually completed in two to three minutes.

USE OF THE FDLQI

The FDLQI is designed to be used as an additional outcome measure to be used in conjunction with the DLQI or any other patient-completed questionnaire.  It can be used by researchers carrying out evaluation research or by clinicians in order to assist the clinical consultation, evaluation and clinical decision making process. There is no need to seek specific permission for clinical use and there is no charge for the use of the FDLQI in this context. However it is a requirement that every copy of the FDLQI, in whatever language, should always reproduce the copyright statement at the end of the FDLQI.

The above permission does not affect the requirement for seeking of permission and of possible payment when the FDLQI is used for research purposes.

COPYRIGHT

The FDLQI is copyright world-wide and can only be reproduced with permission from the authors (except for routine clinical purposes; see above).

The USA Library of Congress Registration

Number: TXu1-296-736
Registration Date: 14 April 2006

Authors

Dr M K A Basra and Professor A Y Finlay

The copyright statement

© M K A Basra, A Y Finlay Cardiff University 2005. This must not be copied without the permission of the authors. www.dermatology.org.uk

The copyright statement must always be reproduced at the end of every copy of this questionnaire in whatever language.

PERMISSION

There is a simple method for getting formal permission for use of the FDLQI. Please contact Professor A Y Finlay or       M K A Basra directly at the address below. Formal permission is usually given immediately.

CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

TRANSLATIONS

If it is required to make a translation of the FDLQI into other languages it is essential that validated translation be used. At the very minimum this requires two independent translators translating the measures from English into the alternative language. These two translators then discuss their translations and agree on a single translation in the alternate language. At this stage a third and fourth translator are asked to independently back-translate the alternate language version into English. At this stage the back-translations need to be reviewed by the copyright holders. Nearly always small problems become apparent at this stage and it is necessary for further changes to be made in the alternative language translation. This then needs to be validated by a further process of back-translation. Advice on this process can be gained from the address above.

Please note that the copyright for any translation is retained by the original copyright holders and is not transferred or shared with any additional copyright holders even though they may have been involved in the translation.

Scoring

The scoring of each question is as follows:

Not at all/Not relevant          scored 0

A little                                 scored 1

Quite a lot                           scored 2

Very much                          scored 3

Question unanswered           scored 0

The FDLQI total score is calculated by summing the score of each question resulting in a maximum of 30 and a minimum of 0. The higher the score, the more quality of life is impaired. The FDLQI can also be expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible score of 30.

Interpretation of incorrectly completed questionnaires

There is a very high success rate of accurate completion of the FDLQI. However, sometimes subjects do make mistakes.

1.       If one question is left unanswered this is scored 0 and the scores are summed and expressed as usual out of a maximum of 30.

2.       If two or more questions are left unanswered the questionnaire is not scored.

3.       If two or more response options are ticked, the response option with the highest score should be recorded.

4.       If there is a response between two tick boxes, the lower of the two score options should be recorded.

CHARGES

There is a small charge for the use of the FDLQI (Except where the FDLQI is used for routine clinical purposes). This charge is based upon the total number of subjects to whom the Index is administered. It is not based upon the frequency with which the questionnaires are administered to each individual.

These charges are always waived by the copyright holders for non-funded 'academic' studies and they are mainly applied to pharmaceutical companies using these Indexes in Phase II and Phase III studies. Please contact the authors concerning this. The charge per subject is as follows:

UK: £ 5

USA and rest of world: $ 9.50 (Plus exchange rate at the time of invoicing)

Payment should be made after receipt of an invoice from the Cardiff University School of Medicine.

Key References

Basra MKA, Sue-Ho R, Finlay AY. The Family Dermatology Life Quality Index; measuring the secondary impact of skin disease. Br J Dermatol 2007; 156: 528-538.
Erratum: British Journal of Dermatology 2007; 156: 791 (Correct FDLQI given here).

Basra M K A, Finlay A Y. The family impact of skin diseases: the greater patient concept. Br J Dermatol 2007; 156: 929-937.