Translation of Stroke Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire Into Local Languages of Pakistan

Reliability and Validity of Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale in Local Languages of Pakistan

The aim of the present study is to translate the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire into local languages of Pakistan along with validation of the translated versions by evaluating their validity and reliability in the people of Pakistan, speaking respective languages and suffering from a stroke. No such study has been previously conducted in the Pakistan region which translates the specific questionnaire and follows the proper cross-culture adaptation protocol.

The stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale is regarded as one of the most extensive and more commonly utilized patient-centred and self-reported measure of outcomes in the stroke population. The SS-QoL scale is a health-related outcome measure that comprises 49 items in 12 areas of vision, mobility, thinking, social roles, self-care, language, personality, family roles, work/productivity, upper limb function, mood and energy. It covers a more extensive inclusion of capacities ordinarily influenced by stroke.

The Stroke Specific Quality of Life questionnaire, originally developed in English, has been translated into many languages to assess for its validity and reliability ever since, but not any of the Pakistani native versions are made or tested. Previous studies have shown that the translation of the scale would end up giving a standard measure to be utilized in clinical practices and research studies while sanctioning clinicians and specialists to share information and have an insight into patient's health-related concerns post-stroke. Thus, it is imperative to translate this questionnaire into psychometrically sound versions of indigenous Pakistani languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi and Pashto. This may promote an easy understanding of the local population in Pakistan where the languages are spoken and will provide a valid measure of stroke-specific health outcomes to be clinically utilized by practitioners and researchers across the country.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients post-stroke (sub-acute/chronic stage)
• Participants belonging to Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi and Pashto speaking class
• Patients should be capable to complete the questionnaire without any help.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Healthy population
• Patients at the acute stage of stroke/ TIA.
• Individuals diagnosed with conditions other than stroke.
• Individuals with language/ memory problems.
• Individuals with disability due to any structural/congenital cause.