| Abstract [eng] |
Background. In modern medicine, questionnaires that allow the assessment of patient-reported symptoms and well-being are becoming increasingly important. In laryngology, they are particularly important because some symptoms of laryngeal diseases and their impact on a person’s well-being are difficult to measure objectively. To evaluate patient well-being, the impact of disease on quality of life and treatment outcomes, it is important to use well-developed questionnaires in clinical practice and scientific research. In order to adapt questionnaires developed in foreign languages for the Lithuanian-speaking population, a methodologically based process of cultural adaptation must be carried out to ensure the comprehensibility, acceptability and preservation of the original meaning of the translated questionnaire. This study aims to describe the principles of cultural adaptation of questionnaires and the evaluation of their psychometric properties, to review the process of cross-cultural adaptation of Lithuanian questionnaires for laryngeal diseases, the results of their psychometric evaluation and to compare them with the original versions of the questionnaires. Methods. Scientific literature search was conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Google Scholar databases using combinations of keywords. Additional literature sources were selected by reviewing printed publications available at the Vilnius University Library. Sources published in Lithuanian and English were analyzed, with no restriction on publication year. Results. Cultural adaptation of questionnaires is a process aimed at ensuring that a new version of a questionnaire is linguistically accurate and preserves the accuracy of content, concepts and meaning of the original version. According to the forward-backward translation methodology, cultural adaptation of questionnaires includes forward translation, reconciliation of the forward translations, backward translation, development of the final version, pilot testing and psychometric evaluation. The involvement of professional translators, an expert committee and representatives of the target group is important in the process to ensure the quality of the new questionnaire. The suitability of a culturally adapted questionnaire for use in clinical practice and scientific research is assessed through psychometric evaluation, including the assessment of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, content validity, construct validity, criterion validity and responsiveness. The literature review identified six questionnaires for laryngeal diseases that have been culturally adapted into Lithuanian: the 30-item Voice Handicap Index, the Glottal Function Index, the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index, the Speech Handicap Index, the Reflux Symptom Index and the Singing Voice Handicap Index. It was found that the Lithuanian versions of the Glottal Function Index, the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index, the Speech Handicap Index and the Reflux Symptom Index demonstrated reliability and validity and therefore may be considered suitable for use in clinical practice and scientific research. However, there remains a need to further clarify the cultural adaptation process and the main reliability and validity indicators of the Lithuanian versions of the 30-item Voice Handicap Index and the Singing Voice Handicap Index. Conclusions. In order to ensure the quality of a new questionnaire version and its equivalence to the original, cultural adaptation must be carried out in accordance with methodological recommendations. The psychometric indicators of most Lithuanian questionnaires for laryngeal diseases support their suitability for use in clinical practice and scientific research. However, data on the psychometric evaluation of the 30-item Voice Handicap Index and the Singing Voice Handicap Index remain limited. |
