The translation of the Vertigo Symptom Scale into Afrikaans: A pilot study

Abstract

Dizziness is a common clinical problem that is challenging to diagnose and treat. One of a subset of symptoms that fall under the encompassing term of dizziness is vertigo, which is the subjective experience of hallucination of movement, often associated with vestibular disorders. While dizziness has a broad range of causes, the association between vestibular disturbance, and its attendant vertigo, and anxiety is well established. The Vertigo Symptom Scale (VSS) is a questionnaire that assesses aspects of vertigo and vertigo-related anxiety. The aim of this study was twofold. In phase 1, a translation of the VSS into Afrikaans was evaluated using the Delphi consensus technique and two panels of participants. Panel 1 comprised first-language Afrikaans speakers who commented on the language, grammar and vocabulary of the items. Panel 2 were bilingual health care practitioners with either a psychology background or a special interest in vertigo. After two rounds of consultation, consensus was achieved and the final translation of the Afrikaans Vertigo Symptom Scale (AVSS) was agreed upon, as well as a list of Afrikaans words descriptive of vertigo. Phase 2 used a descriptive, correlational design. The aim was to pilot the AVSS with a sample of vertiginous and control participants to establish its ability to differentiate between the two groups and to explore experiences of vertigo and anxiety within the two embedded subscales. The results of the pilot study yielded significant statistical differences (p<0.001) between the groups on both subscales of the tool. Preliminary results suggest that the AVSS is able to identify patients with vertiginous disturbance and anxiety. The AVSS presents with good sensitivity and specificity as measured by the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Afrikaans is the home language of almost 6 million people in South Africa. The translation of the VSS into Afrikaans presents health care professionals with a tool with which to assess vertigo and vertigo-related anxiety in this population.

Symptoms Associated with Vestibular Impairment in Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

“…Among patients with vestibular dysfunction, this test has been rated as having excellent test retest reliability at r = 0.94 for vertigo and 0.95 for the autonomic/anxiety symptom scale [18]. Internal consistency of the VSS has a Cronbach alpha range from 0.76 to 0.92 [18–20]. We collected the VSS-SF from 61 participants as the study was already ongoing.…”

Development of the Persian version of the Vertigo Symptom Scale: Validity and reliability

“…Diagnosing the cause of dizziness can be challenging due to its vague symptoms and broad causes, ranging from vestibular to psychological. [12] Dizziness is a general term often used to describe a variety of subjective symptoms, including vertigo, disequilibrium, presyncope, and lightheadedness. [34] Vertigo, a perception of motion without any external source of that sensation, is a common type of dizziness due to vestibular causes.…”

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“…The size of the panel used in the research by Maphalala (2012) and Rogers et al (2011) is also small, compared to the recommended number which literature suggests may range from 10 to over 1 000 participants. However, it should be noted that the literature is clear that increased panel size does not necessarily improve the decisionmaking process or guarantee a more valid outcome (Powell, 2003).…”

“…Panels may be facilitated electronically which may offer an additional advantage in that members do not influence one another in the way that may occur in focus groups -as in Maphalala's (2012) project, for example; but instead can be used to build on the work of all members and reach consensus (Mokkink et al, 2010). Rogers et al (2011) used a modified (two-round) Delphi consensus procedure to refine translation of the VSS, as well as to seek opinion regarding Afrikaans words which would capture the essence of the word 'vertigo' . Two first-language Afrikaans-speaking audiology students independently translated the VSS into the target language.…”

“…Rogers et al (2011) focused on dizziness, a common occurrence in the general and medical population. Frequently patients and clinicians are at odds regarding symptom definition, e.g.…”