Under the circumstance of global population aging, the issue on how to facilitate the quality of life (QOL) for older people brings us grand challenge. On the way to solve this problem, it is inextricable to measure QOL for older people accurately at onset. This study is aimed at evaluating the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Older Adults Module (WHOQOL-OLD).

We received 1005 valid WHOQOL-OLD questionnaires from 1050 respondents who were 60 and older by quota sampling method. To calculate the test-retest correlation coefficient we re-interviewed 101 participants from the community. Psychometric properties were evaluated from the aspect of feasibility, internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, content validity, construct validity and discriminant validity.

Missing item responses took up 0.0%-2.7% in the scale. The WHOQOL-OLD showed satisfactory reliability with Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients ranging from 0.711 (Social participation) to 0.842 (Sensory ability) for each domain. The intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) presenting test-retest reliability were all over 0.7. In Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) was 0.084 (a little more than 0.08) and comparative fit index (CFI) 0.95 (>0.90) which meant acceptable construct validity. There were higher correlation coefficients between items and their hypothesized domains than other domains (P < 0.001), indicating good content validity. The results of t-test showed good discriminant validity of the WHOQOL-OLD between the healthy group and the unhealthy group (P < 0.0083).

The Chinese version of WHOQOL-OLD showed good feasibility, reliability and validity in this study. However, before it can be used national-widely, further research should be conducted in other areas of China.