Karen Højmark Hansen

Reliability and Validity Testing of a Danish Translated Version of Spinal Appearance Questionnaire (SAQ) v 1.1.

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional. OBJECTIVE To develop a psychometrically reliable and valid Danish version of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ was developed as a disease-specific measure of quality of life in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), specifically for younger patients, as it has more visual cues than verbal questions. A reliable and valid Danish Version is not available. METHODS A Danish version of the SAQ was developed using previously published and widely accepted guidelines. The final Danish SAQ and the Danish SRS22-R were administered to 78 AIS patients two weeks apart. Baseline and follow-up scores were compared. Cronbachs α and intraclass correlations were used to determine reliability. Correlation of SAQ domains with SRS-22R domains was calculated. Discriminative properties were compared by computing effect size and standardized response mean. RESULTS Fifty-one patients returned both the baseline and follow-up questionnaires, with an average age 16 ± 3 years and 40.8 ± 28.8 days between baseline and follow-up. There were no floor or ceiling effects for SAQ Appearance. There was a low floor effect and moderate ceiling effect for SAQ Expectations. There was good to excellent internal consistency within each domain. CONCLUSION This purpose of this study was to translate and validate a Danish version of the SAQ. Although problems were identified with items 7 and 8, the Danish SAQ is reliable and valid.STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional. OBJECTIVE To develop a psychometrically reliable and valid Danish version of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire (SAQ). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The SAQ was developed as a disease-specific measure of quality of life in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), specifically for younger patients, as it has more visual cues than verbal questions. A reliable and valid Danish Version is not available. METHODS A Danish version of the SAQ was developed using previously published and widely accepted guidelines. The final Danish SAQ and the Danish SRS22-R were administered to 78 AIS patients two weeks apart. Baseline and follow-up scores were compared. Cronbachs α and intraclass correlations were used to determine reliability. Correlation of SAQ domains with SRS-22R domains was calculated. Discriminative properties were compared by computing effect size and standardized response mean. RESULTS Fifty-one patients returned both the baseline and follow-up questionnaires, with an average age 16 ± 3 years and 40.8 ± 28.8 days between baseline and follow-up. There were no floor or ceiling effects for SAQ Appearance. There was a low floor effect and moderate ceiling effect for SAQ Expectations. There was good to excellent internal consistency within each domain. CONCLUSION This purpose of this study was to translate and validate a Danish version of the SAQ. Although problems were identified with items 7 and 8, the Danish SAQ is reliable and valid.