Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool (FiRST): Arabic Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation

Abstract

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM), a complex neurological disorder, has multiple consequences for the patient. To diagnose patients, healthcare practitioners use multiple diagnostic questionnaires. However, Arabic translated or validated tools are lacking. This study aimed to translate and validate the Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool (FiRST) into the Arabic language. Methods: Forward and backward translations of the FiRST were conducted by two Arabic translators and two English-certified translators. The survey was piloted (n = 5) and subjected to cognitive interviews and psychometric analysis. Patients were recruited from a university hospital in Riyadh and an FM support group in Saudi Arabia. The internal consistency, factor analysis, and test–retest correlations were evaluated. Results: This study included 46 patients. The stepwise translation process resulted in minor edits related to the use of synonyms to the survey items. The translated survey had a good internal consistency and test–retest correlation, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.7 and Pearson’s correlation coefficient of 0.79 (p-value < 0.001), respectively. The survey was factorable into two themes: generalized symptoms and more specific sensations. Conclusions: The Arabic FiRST is a simple, valid, and reliable tool to diagnose patients with FM in different settings.

Validation of the Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: Polish version adaptation and value in clinical practice

“…Originally FiRST was developed in French and English and has been translated according to the MAPI Research Trust website into Arabic, German, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, and Ukrainian languages [31]. The linguistic validation (with results available in English) was performed for Arabic [15], Greek [17], Portuguese [16], Spanish [13,14] and Turkish [18] versions. Our Polish version of FiRST compared to other language versions showed slightly lower internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.644 vs 0.7-0.787) [13,15,17] and comparable test-retest reliability (ρ = 0.75 vs 0.76-0.875) [15,18].…”

“…The linguistic validation (with results available in English) was performed for Arabic [15], Greek [17], Portuguese [16], Spanish [13,14] and Turkish [18] versions. Our Polish version of FiRST compared to other language versions showed slightly lower internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.644 vs 0.7-0.787) [13,15,17] and comparable test-retest reliability (ρ = 0.75 vs 0.76-0.875) [15,18]. The criterion validity of the Polish version of FiRST was comparably good as the other translations (AUC = 0.803 vs 0.76-0.9) [13,14,16,17].…”

“…In the development study, FiRST showed a sensitivity of 90.5% and a specificity of 85.7% (AUC = 0.93) in diagnosing FM (according to 1990 ACR criteria), while also showing good consistency of the test over time (ICC = 0.87). As of today, FiRST has been translated and validated into several languages, showing good psychometric properties [13][14][15][16][17][18]. However, there is no Polish language version of FiRST.…”