Journal of Spine

Validation of Chinese Version of Brace Questionnaire from its Original Greek Version

Abstract

Siu Ling Chan, Kenneth Man Chee Cheung, Jason Pui Yin Cheung, Lawrence Chi Kwan Chan, Esther Wing Sze Lo and Man Sang Wong

Purpose: A disease specific Brace Questionnaires (BrQ) has been developed for measuring the quality of life of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) who were under brace treatment. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Chinese version of BrQ from its original Greek version.

Methods: Forward and backward translations of BrQ were performed according to the cross-cultural adaptation process. After translation, 120 subjects with AIS were recruited and asked to fill out the Chinese translated BrQ and the Chinese refined 22-item Scoliosis Research Society questionnaire (SRS-22r). Subjects completed the Chinese translated BrQ again in 1-2 weeks. Demographic data as well as other parameters were collected such as brace wearing duration, brace wearing hours per day (self-reported), in-brace Cobb angles and curve patterns. The reliability and validity were checked by internal consistency and test-retest reliability using Cronbach’s alpha, Intraclass correlation as well as Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results: The internal consistency and test-retest reproducibility of the translated BrQ were 0.89 and 0.83 respectively. The Chinese translated BrQ demonstrated concurrent validity as reflected by the significant correlation between the BrQ domains and the relevant SRS-22r domains. The Chinese translated BrQ showed its discriminant validity too. Significant differences were found in the BrQ school activity mean score (p=0.042) and social functioning mean score (p=0.047) between subject groups: age 12 or below and age 13 or above. Significant differences were also detected in the BrQ domain score including physical functioning (p<0.001), emotional functioning (p=0.002), vitality (p=0.004), bodily pain (p<0.001) and social functioning (p=0.018) between subject groups with different brace wearing hours (0-8 hours, 9-16 hours and 17-23 hours).

Conclusion: The Chinese translated BrQ showed good validity and reliability. It demonstrated its concurrent validity and discriminatory validity in the AIS population studied.