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

Abstract

Cross-sectional. 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. 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. Cronbach's 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. 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. 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.