Evaluation of the Chinese version of the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH-HKPWH): cross-cultural adaptation process, internal consistency and reliability study.
The Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) was translated into Chinese by a physiotherapy team of the Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong (DASH-HKPWH).


OBJECTIVE
This study evaluated the cross-cultural adaptation process, face validity, internal consistency and reliability of the DASH-HKPWH.


METHODS
Language officers and medical professionals from different fields were invited to translate and evaluate the face validity of the DASH-HKPWH. 88 patients were recruited to complete two DASH questionnaires on two occasions 1-2 weeks apart.


RESULTS
Some adjustments were made to the translations based on the cultural and linguistic practice in Hong Kong. The face validity was satisfactory with a mean endorsement score of 3.2. The difference between the mean of DASH scores was not significant (t = -0.35, p = 0.73). The ICC (1,1) and Cronbach's alpha for the 30-item Disability/Symptom of the DASH-HKPWH was 0.77 and 0.94, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The translation was valid and reliable and acceptably equivalent to the original version. The questionnaire is suitable for measuring changes experienced by patients with any upper extremity disorders.
Lee
Edwin W C
EW
Physiotherapy Department, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China. edwinlee@cuhk.edu.hk
Lau
Jamie S Y
JS
Chung
Mandy M H
MM
Li
Aileen P S
AP
Lo
S K
SK
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D003469:Culture; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*