Translation, Face and Content Validity of the Persian Version of School Function Assessment

Abstract

Background: School function assessment (SFA) is a criterion-referenced assessment that uses functional tasks to determine the level of participation and performance of students. The purpose of this study is to assess the face and the content validity of the Persian version of SFA for normal Iranian 6 – 12-year-old children. Methods: This study has a methodological and psychometric design. We used a standard protocol, international quality of life assessment (IQOLA), for translating the SFA test. This protocol includes translation to Persian and backward-translation to English as well; both of these translation qualities are estimated. In order to ensure content validity, 20 occupational therapists, who are experts in the field of pediatrics, completed the content validity index (CVI) and the content validity ratio (CVR) forms through 11 sessions using the IQOLA scale. Twenty elementary school teachers completed these forms as well. Results: The results of face validity showed that all the terms were clear and simple, and all the terms except one were higher than 1.5 in the impact score. The content validity results showed that five item’s score was lower than the acceptable score (< 0.7). Finally, in the expert panel, all the CVI and the CVR items achieved an acceptable score. In this panel, the experts negotiated about the clarity, the simplicity, and the necessity of all the items. Therefore, the Persian version of SFA can evaluate the school function of Iranian children. Conclusions: The Persian version of the SFA achieved a good match in terms of cultural and face validity. Agreements above 80% in the results of face validity confirm that the Persian version of SFA is clear, simple, and understandable for its target population. The content validity results indicate different cultural perceptions for certain items. To determine and construct the validity and the reliability of the Persian version of SFA, other studies are required.