Translation, adaptation and psychometric properties of the Icelandic stroke and aphasia quality of life scale‐39g

Abstract

Translation, adaptation and psychometric properties of the Icelandic stroke and aphasia quality of life scale-39g Background: The overarching aim of aphasia rehabilitation is to improve people's quality of life. The most commonly used quality of life measure developed for use with individuals with aphasia is the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39g). Aims: We aimed to translate and adapt the SAQOL-39g into Icelandic, and examine its psychometric properties. Furthermore, this study aimed to gather preliminary information on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of stroke patients in Iceland. Method: A traditional back-translation approach was applied to translate the SAQOL-39g into Icelandic. We recruited 20 poststroke patients, thereof ten with aphasia, for evaluation of the psychometric properties of the translated instrument. Acceptability was based on missing data, and floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency was measured by Cronbach's a and correlation between test items and overall score, and test-retest reliability was measured by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for overall and domain scores. Results: The back-translation led to reviewing of eight test items for the final translation. No test items required cultural adaptation. The acceptability of the translation met criteria for both proportion of missing data (0%) and floor and ceiling effects for test items and domains (<80%). Internal consistency also met criteria, both for overall score (a = 0.94) and domains: physical domain (a = 0.93), psychosocial domain (a = 0.93) and communication domain (a = 0.89). Correlation between test items and overall score ranged from 0.30 to 0.82. Testretest reliability met criteria both for overall score (0.95) and domains: physical domain (0.94), psychosocial domain (0.95), and communication domain (0.95). The mean total score was significantly lower for participants with aphasia compared to participants without aphasia (3.73 vs. 4.20; p < 05). Conclusions: The Icelandic SAQOL-39g demonstrated good psychometric properties. Preliminary evidence suggests that the HRQOL of people with aphasia is significantly worse than of people without aphasia after stroke.

Are People with Aphasia (PWA) Involved in the Creation of Quality of Life and Aphasia Impact-Related Questionnaires? A Scoping Review

“…The involvement of PWA in QoL and AIR tools was analyzed and presented as reported in the selected published studies. [27], Greek [28], Portuguese [29], Japanese [30], Singaporean [31], Dutch [32], Chinese [33], Turkish [34], Icelandic [35], and Persian [36]. None of the selected SAQOL adaptation studies involved stroke survivors with or without aphasia in their creation.…”

“…Specifically, 10 of the 20 studies (50%) were various adaptations of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale (SAQOL-39) created by Hilary et al in 2003. These studies included the adaptation of the SAQOL-39 in different languages, as follows: Dutch[27], Greek[28], Portuguese[29], Japanese[30], Singaporean[31], Dutch[32], Chinese[33], Turkish[34], Icelandic[35], and Persian[36]. None of the selected SAQOL adaptation studies involved stroke survivors with or without aphasia in their creation.…”