Dyspnoea Management Questionnaire

Objective

Dyspnoea represents one of the most frequent cardinal symptoms globaly.It is a sensation of lacking of the air and of not being able to breathe normally.Dyspnoea Management Questionnaire (DMQ) used in clinical and research settings for measuring treatment outcomes for patients with chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD).

Intended Population

The dyspnoea management questionnaire (DMQ) addresses a need for a comprehensive dyspnea measure with,

• Physical,
• Anxiety
• Behavioral
• Cognitive aspects

Method of Use

• The DMQ consists of five theoretical dyspnea dimensions:

1. dyspnea intensity,
2. dyspnea anxiety,
3. activity avoidance,
4. activity self-efficacy, and
5. satisfaction with strategy use.

• Cognitive-behavioral theory underlies the DMQ including: the model of dyspnea,⁷ the cognitive-behavioral model of panic,³³ cognitive-perceptual model of somatic interpretation,³⁴ fear-avoidance model,³⁵ social learning theory of self-efficacy,³⁶ in addition to the theory of patient satisfaction.³⁷ The activity self-efficacy scale of the DMQ is based on the COPD self-efficacy scale.¹⁹ 
• The DMQ uses a 7-point Likert response scale that ranges from 0 to 6 with higher scores representing better dyspnea-related function.
• For example, the activity avoidance scale of the DMQ ranges from (6) “never” to (0) “all the time”.
• To calculate each subscale score, raw values for items are summed and then divided by the number of items in the subscale to obtain a mean score.
• The DMQ was developed to be both a clinical and a research outcome scale to measure the effectiveness of multi-disciplinary treatments that aim to reduce the emotionally distressing and disabling responses to dyspnea and promote adaptive coping for adults with COPD.