Dutch–Flemish translation of nine pediatric item banks from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)®

Abstract

PurposeThe Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) is a new, state-of-the-art assessment system for measuring patient-reported health and well-being of adults and children. It has the potential to be more valid, reliable, and responsive than existing PROMs. The items banks are designed to be self-reported and completed by children aged 8–18 years. The PROMIS items can be administered in short forms or through computerized adaptive testing. This paper describes the translation and cultural adaption of nine PROMIS item banks (151 items) for children in Dutch–Flemish.MethodsThe translation was performed by FACITtrans using standardized PROMIS methodology and approved by the PROMIS Statistical Center. The translation included four forward translations, two back-translations, three independent reviews (at least two Dutch, one Flemish), and pretesting in 24 children from the Netherlands and Flanders.ResultsFor some items, it was necessary to have separate translations for Dutch and Flemish: physical function—mobility (three items), anger (one item), pain interference (two items), and asthma impact (one item). Challenges faced in the translation process included scarcity or overabundance of possible translations, unclear item descriptions, constructs broader/smaller in the target language, difficulties in rank ordering items, differences in unit of measurement, irrelevant items, or differences in performance of activities. By addressing these challenges, acceptable translations were obtained for all items.ConclusionThe Dutch–Flemish PROMIS items are linguistically equivalent to the original USA version. Short forms are now available for use, and entire item banks are ready for cross-cultural validation in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Translation, psychometric validation, and baseline results of the Patient‐Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) pediatric measures to assess health‐related quality of life of patients with pediatric lymphoma in Malawi

“…We followed the rigorous systematic FACIT methodology involving both qualitative and quantitative evaluation that resulted in a Chichewa translation that is semantically and conceptually equivalent to the English version. Our experience was similar to that reported by the Dutch and Chinese pediatric PROMIS translation teams. Similar to our translation process, the phrase “one block” also had to be adapted to an equivalent alternative, and revisions after qualitative interviews were made to find the word or phrase that had the most conceptual equivalence and linguistic validity .…”

“…Our experience was similar to that reported by the Dutch and Chinese pediatric PROMIS translation teams. Similar to our translation process, the phrase “one block” also had to be adapted to an equivalent alternative, and revisions after qualitative interviews were made to find the word or phrase that had the most conceptual equivalence and linguistic validity . The PROMIS‐25 pediatric Chichewa short form was found to be feasible and acceptable since no patients refused to participate, and there were no missing question items, similar to other studies …”

“…Using a universal approach to translation and a rigorous systematic translation and cultural validation process, the PROMIS instruments can be administered across several languages and cultural contexts . Currently, selected PROMIS pediatric measures have been officially translated and validated in the following languages: Afrikaans, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.…”

“…[2][3][4] PROMIS instruments have rapidly proliferated in research and practice settings, and are considered to be among the current methodologic gold standards. 3,4 PROMIS is more valid, reliable, and responsive than other PRO instruments, 5 and widespread international adoption is ongoing. 3,5 Using a universal approach to translation and a rigorous systematic translation and cultural validation process, the PROMIS instruments can be administered across several languages and cultural contexts.…”

Report of the GRAPPA-OMERACT Psoriatic Arthritis Working Group from the GRAPPA 2015 Annual Meeting

“…PROMIS measures are free to use (http://assessmentcenter.net) and are being translated and validated in multiple languages by the PROMIS International organization. (17, 18) PROMIS measure implementation and expansion is currently focused on validation studies in specific health conditions,(19–23) including testing in PsA in an ongoing longitudinal project at Johns Hopkins. (24)…”