The Reliability and Cross-Cultured Adaptation of the Boston Questionnaire; in Turkish Illiterate Patients
Pelin Yazgan1, Zeynep Şimşek2, İsmihan Orhan1, Lyold Beachy4, Yaşar Özkul3, Mehmet Ali Kurcer2
1Harran Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon, Anabilim Dalı, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye
2Harran Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Halk Sağlığı, Anabilim Dalı, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye
3Harran Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Nöroloji, Anabilim Dalı, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye
4Yabancı Diller Eğitim Merkezi, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye
Keywords: Adaptation, reliability, illiterate patients, questionnaire
Abstract
Objective: In Turkey, the illiterate patients may not be able to complete many self-administered questionnaires. The aim of this study was to adapt the self-administered Boston questionnaire (BQ) for the assessment of the severity of symptoms and functional status (BQ-SS, BQ-F) in carpal tunnel syndrome to the illiterate Turkish population and investigate the reliability of the cross cultured adaptation.
Material and Methods: A total of 120 outpatients with carpal tunnel syndrome (60 literate, 60 illiterate) were assessed using this Turkish version of BQ. Translation/back-translation of the English version BQ was done by using blinded method and independently by four different individuals, and adapted by a team. For illiterate people, the term “writing” was changed as “crocheting” and the statement “holding a book while reading” was modified as “holding the Holy Quran while reading”. Reliability was investigated by the reproducibility and internal consistency.
Results: Cronbach's alpha was calculated at 0.914 for BQ-SS scale, 0.94 for BQ-F scale in the illiterate group and at 0.971 for BQ-SS scale, 0.96 for BQ-F scale in the literate group, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficients were excellent and range between 0.89 and 0.96 for BQ-SS and BQ-F in the illiterate and the literate patients.
Conclusion: This adapted version of BQ provides a reliable tool in iliterate Turkish patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. For application of self-administered questionnaire, some conceptual modifications should be required for accommodation of the different educational levels. (Turk J Rheumatol 2009; 24: 10-6)