Enhancing rigour in the validation of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs): bridging linguistic and psychometric testing

Abstract

BackgroundA strong consensus exists for a systematic approach to linguistic validation of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) and discrete methods for assessing their psychometric properties. Despite the need for robust evidence of the appropriateness of measures, transition from linguistic to psychometric validation is poorly documented or evidenced. This paper demonstrates the importance of linking linguistic and psychometric testing through a purposeful stage which bridges the gap between translation and large-scale validation.FindingsEvidence is drawn from a study to develop a Welsh language version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and investigate its psychometric properties. The BDI-II was translated into Welsh then administered to Welsh-speaking university students (n = 115) and patients with depression (n = 37) concurrent with the English BDI-II, and alongside other established depression and quality of life measures. A Welsh version of the BDI-II was produced that, on administration, showed conceptual equivalence with the original measure; high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90; 0.96); item homogeneity; adequate correlation with the English BDI-II (r = 0.96; 0.94) and additional measures; and a two-factor structure with one overriding dimension. Nevertheless, in the student sample, the Welsh version showed a significantly lower overall mean than the English (p = 0.002); and significant differences in six mean item scores. This prompted a review and refinement of the translated measure.ConclusionsExploring potential sources of bias in translated measures represents a critical step in the translation-validation process, which until now has been largely underutilised. This paper offers important findings that inform advanced methods of cross-cultural validation of PROMs.

Psycho-oncology assessment in Chinese populations: a systematic review of quality of life and psychosocial measures

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Validation of a novel online depression symptom severity rating scale: the R8 Depression

“…In particular, previous work on translating another widely used depression rating scale [ 24 ] had identified the importance of subtle phrase variations in distinguishing between the absence of a symptom or problem and the threshold for indicating its mild occurrence (i.e. scoring between 0 and 1 on an item).…”

Adapting health behavior measurement tools for cross-cultural use

“…The disadvantages mostly involve biases from translation. To minimize these biases, whenever possible, translators should be ethnically and culturally representative of the target population, but fluent in both the source and target language and familiar with both cultures [40]. The source language translators should also know and understand the construct being measured, while the target language translators would not have this familiarity or detailed knowledge [41].…”