The Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Upper Extremity Functional Index (UEFI): Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties for Brazilian adults after a burn injury

Abstract

ObjectivesTo translate, cross-culturally adapt, validate, verify the reliability and estimate the minimal detectable change (MDC) of the UEFI to Brazilian Portuguese (UEFI-Br) for burns. MethodsThe study was carried out with 131 Brazilian burn cases at two time points, at discharge and at the first outpatient follow-up (15–21 days after discharge) in a Burn Treatment Center. The adaptation process of the UEFI was based on international recommendations. The Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief-Br (BSHS-B-Br) was also applied in order to analyze construct validity of the UEFI-Br and distribution-based methods were used to estimate its MDC. ResultsIntra- and inter-rater reliability were good with ICC of 0.986 (CI 95 %: 0.98–0.99) and 0.969 (CI 95 %: 0.955–0.979), respectively, at discharge and 0.997 (CI 95 %: 0.996–0.998) and 0.987 (CI 95 %: 0.981–0.991), respectively, at the first outpatient follow-up appointment. We found good internal consistency with Cronbach’s α values of 0.987 and 0.996, respectively, at the two times. The SEM was 4.42 and 2.31 at the first and second time points, respectively. The UEFI-Br scores demonstrated strong correlation with the Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief-Br (BSHS-B-Br) function domain scores (r = 0.87–0.90). No significant correlation was found between UEFI-Br scores and participants’ characteristics. The MDC of the UEFI-Br lies between 11 and 13 points. ConclusionThe Brazilian version of the UEFI-Br, a useful tool to assess upper limb function and disability, is a valid and reliable tool for use with Brazilian burn survivors. The MDC for the instrument was determined to be 11–13 points.