Development of an “item bank” to assess the impact of diabetic retinopathy on quality of life: the RetBank project

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema are common ocular complications of diabetes that can lead to significant vision impairment and have a devastating impact on quality of life. However, our understanding of the impact of diabetic retinopathy on quality of life is limited by the lack of an appropriate patient reported outcome measure. Most instruments tend to focus primarily on activity limitation rather than the holistic concept of quality of life. Moreover, most outcome measures have undergone minimal validation using classical test theory rather than modern psychometric theory such as Rasch analysis. With the emergence of new treatment modalities for diabetic retinopathy and d..