title: Spanish translation and linguistic validation of the quality of life in neurological disorders (Neuro-QoL) measurement system.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The quality of life in neurological disorders (Neuro-QoL) measurement system is a 470-item compilation of health-related quality of life domains for adults and children with neurological disorders. It was developed and cognitively debriefed in English and Spanish, with general population and clinical samples in the USA. This paper describes the Spanish translation and linguistic validation process.
  
  
  METHODS
  The translation methodology combined forward and back-translations, multiple reviews, and cognitive debriefing with 30 adult and 30 pediatric Spanish-speaking respondents in the USA. The adult Fatigue bank was later also tested in Spain and Argentina. A universal approach to translation was adopted to produce a Spanish version that can be used in various countries. Translators from several countries were involved in the process.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cognitive debriefing results indicated that most of the 470 Spanish items were well understood. Translations were revised as needed where difficulty was reported or where participants' comments revealed misunderstanding of an item's intended meaning. Additional testing of the universal Spanish adult Fatigue item bank in Spain and Argentina confirmed good understanding of the items and that no country-specific word changes were necessary.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All the adult and pediatric Neuro-QoL measures have been linguistically validated with Spanish speakers in the USA. Instruments are available for use at www.assessmentcenter.net.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA, helena-correia@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: Alex W K
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kallen
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cella
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000523:psychology; D001118:Argentina; D002648:Child; D032882:Comprehension; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology; D005221:Fatigue; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000523:psychology; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000523:psychology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013030:Spain; D020521:Stroke / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014177:Translations