Adapted Simplified Chinese (Mainland) Version of Scoliosis Research Society-22 Questionnaire

Abstract

Validation study to define validity and reliability of an adapted and translated questionnaire. This study attempted to validate the traditional Chinese (Hong Kong) version of the modified Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) Outcomes Instrument, SRS-22, into simplified Chinese for use in mainland China. Although a traditional Chinese (Hong Kong) adaptation of the SRS-22 has been previously validated, no culturally adapted, validated SRS-22 exists for use in mainland China. Adhering to International Quality of Life Assessment Project guidelines, the adapted traditional Chinese SRS-22 was translated into simplified Chinese while referencing the original English questionnaire. To examine the psychometric properties and clinical application of the adapted simplified Chinese SRS-22, a survey was conducted in a group of randomly selected 87 patients previously surgically treated at an outpatient clinic. Reliability assessment of the simplified Chinese version of the SRS-22 was determined by calculating Cronbach's alpha and intraclass coefficient (ICC) values. Concurrent validity was evaluated by comparing SRS-22 domains with relevant domains of the simplified Short-Form-36 questionnaire; correlation was made using Pearson correlation coefficients. Cronbach's alpha, applied to each of the 22 questions of the adapted SRS-22, revealed very satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.80-0.89) for function/activity and pain, and good consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.50-0.79) for the remaining domains. The test/retest reproducibility was found to be good (ICC > or =0.40-0.75) in the function/activity domain, and excellent (ICC > or =0.75) in the remaining domains. In terms of concurrent validity, 3 domains had excellent correlation, while 10 had good correlation, and 21 had moderate correlation. The authors report the validation of a simplified Chinese SRS-22 for use in mainland China, which is culturally relevant, reliable, repeatable, psychometrically sound, and suitable for immediate clinical use.