RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Development and validation of an interstitial lung disease exposure questionnaire for sub-Saharan Africa JF ERJ Open Research JO erjor FD European Respiratory Society SP 00205-2022 DO 10.1183/23120541.00205-2022 VO 8 IS 4 A1 Peter Jackson A1 Roma Padalkar A1 Winceslaus Katagira A1 Kevin Mortimer A1 Natalie A. Rykiel A1 Nicole M. Robertson A1 Suzanne L. Pollard A1 Patricia Alupo A1 William Checkley A1 Bruce Kirenga A1 Trishul Siddharthan YR 2022 UL http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/8/4/00205-2022.abstract AB Background American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society guidelines recommend context-specific exposure assessments to diagnose interstitial lung disease (ILD). In sub-Saharan Africa, ILD diagnoses are rare, and locally validated ILD exposure questionnaires are not used.Methods A physician-administered ILD exposure questionnaire was developed using a four-step mixed-methods modified Delphi approach. First, ILD questionnaires from high-income countries and data from Pneumotox were reviewed, compiled and face-validated. Second, a local pilot group of ILD experts ranked item relevance using a Likert scale and suggested additions. Third, the questionnaire format and pilot rankings were addressed in a focus group discussion that was analysed using grounded theory. Finally, following focus group discussion modifications, the resulting items (with three duplicate item groups for evaluation of internal consistency) were ranked for importance by members of the Pan-African Thoracic Society (PATS).Results Face validation resulted in 82 items in four categories: “Smoking and Drugs”, “Environmental Exposures”, “Occupations” and “Medications”. Pilot group (n=10) ranking revealed 27 outliers and 30 novel suggestions. Focus group (n=12) discussion resulted in 10 item deletions, 14 additions and 22 re-wordings; themes included desire for extensive questionnaires and stigma sensitivity. Final validation involved 58 PATS members (mean±sd age 46±10.6  years, 76% male, from 17 countries) ranking 84 items derived from previous steps and three duplicate question groups. The questionnaire was internally consistent (Cronbach's α >0.80) and ultimately included 73 items.Conclusion This mixed-methods study included experts from 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and successfully developed a 73-item ILD exposure questionnaire for sub-Saharan Africa. African pulmonary experts valued region-specific additions and ranked several items from existing ILD questionnaires as unimportant.Guidelines for ILD diagnosis recommend locally relevant exposure questionnaires. An ILD exposure questionnaire has been developed and validated for sub-Saharan Africa to provide a locally relevant questionnaire for this region. https://bit.ly/3ObwaFg