The Development and Validation of a Questionnaire Measuring Digital Eye Strain and Risk Level (DESRIL-27)

Abstract

Background: Daily exposure and overuse of digital devices are associated with several health-related issues to human eye, muscles and bones that are collectively termed as Digital Eye Strain and related Musculoskeletal Disorders. These problems have become worse during covid-19 pandemic due to global shift towards working online. This paper introduces a validated research instrument called DESRIL-27 to be used in assessing digital eye strain and related musculoskeletal disorders, with their associated risk factors in the working population.Methods: DESRIL-27 was developed from thorough review of salient literatures and in consultation with a team of experts to ensure the content validity. This 27-item tool consists of two scales, namely symptom severity and risk level scales. Reliability and validity analyses were conducted to assess the psychometric properties of DESRIL-27. Results: Cronbach’s alpha was 0.91 for Symptom Severity and 0.88 for Risk Level from the scales in the questionnaire. Principal Component Analysis results ranged from acceptable to very good. Conclusions: The procedures adopted for the validation and the results of the analysis reveal that DESRIL-27 is a reliable and valid research instrument. It can be safely used in future research studies to assess the visual and musculoskeletal problems and their risk factors in digital screen users. The resultant knowledge can help individuals, health practitioners, and related policy makers to prevent and control these problems at workplace.