Cross cultural translation, adaptation and reliability of the Malay version of the Canadian Acute Respiratory Illness and Flu Scale (CARIFS).
BACKGROUND
The Canadian Acute Respiratory Illness and Flu Scale (CARIFS) is a parent-proxy questionnaire that assesses severity of acute respiratory infections in children. The aim was to (a) perform a cross-cultural adaptation and (b) prove that the Malay CARIFS is a reliable tool.


RESULTS
The CARIFS underwent forward and backward translations as recommended by international guidelines. A pilot study was performed on the harmonised version and the final version of the Malay version of CARIFS was produced. A test-retest, 1 h apart, was then performed on parents with children less than 13 years old, admitted with a respiratory tract infection. Parents of children with asthma and who were not eloquent in Malay, were excluded. The data was analysed for consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and reliability (test-retest co-efficient). Thirty-three parents were recruited. Children were aged median (IQR) 6 (2.8, 13.3) months with a male: female ratio of 22:11 and 88% were Malays. Parents were interviewed at median (IQR) 6 (3, 11.5) days of admission. The Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.70 for all items. The test-retest reliability analysis had a minimum and maximum intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.63 and 0.97 respectively. Clinically, the longer patients were admitted, the lower the severity score (r = -0.35, p < 0.05), indicating that they were getting better.


CONCLUSIONS
The Malay version of CARIFS is a valid and reliable tool to determine severity of respiratory illness in children. Parent-centred questionnaires are useful and should be an adjunct to other methods, in monitoring response to treatment.
Department of Paediatrics, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. psr9900@hotmail.com.|University Malaya Paediatric and Child Health Research Group, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. psr9900@hotmail.com.
Anna Marie
AM
Nathan
Department of Social & Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Julius Centre University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. rafdzah@hotmail.com.
Rafdzah
R
Zaki
Department of Paediatrics, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. rachaelanne7@gmail.com.
Rachael
R
Rozario
Department of Paediatrics, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. andee25@gmail.com.
Nurul
N
Dhania
Department of Paediatrics, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sabrina_rin89@yahoo.com.
Siti Nur Sabrina
SN
Mohd Hamirudin
Department of Paediatrics, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. egkahpeng@yahoo.com.|University Malaya Paediatric and Child Health Research Group, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. egkahpeng@yahoo.com.
Kah Peng
KP
Eg
Department of Paediatrics, University Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. sy_kee2004@yahoo.com.
Sze Ying
SY
Kee
Department of Microbiology, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. cindysjteh@ummc.edu.my.
Cindy
C
Teh
Department of Microbiology, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. kartini.abduljabar@ummc.edu.my.
Kartini Abdul
KA
Jabar
Department of Biomedical Imaging, University Malaya Medical Centre, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. westcj@ummc.edu.my.
Caroline
C
Westerhout
Department of Paediatrics, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sthava@hotmail.com.|University Malaya Paediatric and Child Health Research Group, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sthava@hotmail.com.
Surendran
S
Thavagnanam
Department of Paediatrics, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. jessieadb@yahoo.com.|University Malaya Paediatric and Child Health Research Group, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. jessieadb@yahoo.com.
Jessie
J
de Bruyne
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014175:Translating