Objectives:The primary objective was to produce a French-Canadian translation of AMSTAR (a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews) and to examine the validity of the translation's contents. The secondary and tertiary objectives were to assess the inter-rater reliability and factorial construct validity of this French-Canadian version of AMSTAR.Methods:A modified approach to Vallerand's methodology (1989) for cross-cultural validation was used.1First, a parallel back-translation of AMSTAR2was performed, by both professionals and future professionals. Next, a first committee of experts (P1) examined the translations to create a first draft of the French-Canadian version of the AMSTAR tool. This draft was then evaluated and modified by a second committee of experts (P2). Following that, 18 future professionals (master's students in physiotherapy) rated this second draft of the instrument for clarity using a seven-point scale (1: very clear; 7: very ambiguous). Lastly, the principal co-investigators then reviewed the problematic elements and proposed final changes. Four independent raters used this French-Canadian version of AMSTAR to assess 20 systematic reviews that were published in French after the year 2000. An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and kappa coefficient were calculated to measure the tool's inter-rater reliability. A Cronbach's alpha coefficient was also calculated to measure internal consistency. In addition, factor analysis was used to evaluate construct validity in order to determine the number of dimensions.Results:The statements on the final version of the AMSTAR tool received an average ambiguity rating of between 1.0 and 1.4. No statement received an average rating below 1.4, which indicates a high level of clarity. Inter-rater reliability (n=4) for the instrument's total score was moderate, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.29, 0.97). Inter-rater reliability for 82% of the individual items was good, according to the kappa values obtained. Internal consistency was excellent, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.83, 0.99). The French-Canadian version of AMSTAR is a unidimensional tool, as confirmed by factor analysis and community values greater than 0.30.Conclusion:A valid French-Canadian version of AMSTAR was created using this rigorous five-step process. This version is unidimensional, with moderate inter-rater reliability for the elements overall, and with excellent internal consistency. This tool could be valuable to French-Canadian professionals and researchers, and could also be of interest to the international Francophone community.
Programme de physiothérapie.
Lucie
L
Brosseau
Programmes d'audiologie et d'orthophonie.
Chantal
C
Laroche
Programme d'ergothérapie, École des sciences de la réadaptation.
Paulette
P
Guitard
Programme de physiothérapie.
Judy
J
King
Programme de physiothérapie.
Stéphane
S
Poitras
Hôpital Montfort.
Lynn
L
Casimiro
Département de linguistique.
Julie Alexandra
JA
Barette
Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS).
Dominique
D
Cardinal
École des sciences de la réadaptation.
Sabrina
S
Cavallo
Direction de la protection de la santé des Forces armées canadiennes, Ottawa.
Lucie
L
Laferrière
Programme de physiothérapie.
Rose
R
Martini
Programme de physiothérapie.
Nicholas
N
Champoux
Programme de physiothérapie.
Jennifer
J
Taverne
Programme de physiothérapie.
Chanyque
C
Paquette
Programme de physiothérapie.
Sébastien
S
Tremblay
Programmes d'audiologie et d'orthophonie.
Ann
A
Sutton
Département des sciences infirmières, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Qué.
Roseline
R
Galipeau
École des sciences infirmières, Université d'Ottawa.
Jocelyne
J
Tourigny
Institut de recherche de l'hôpital pour enfants de l'Est de l'Ontario.
Karine
K
Toupin-April
École des sciences de la réadaptation.
Laurianne
L
Loew
École des sciences de la réadaptation.
Catrine
C
Demers
École des sciences de la réadaptation.
Katrine
K
Sauvé-Schenk
Programme de physiothérapie.
Nicole
N
Paquet
Programme d'ergothérapie, École des sciences de la réadaptation.
Jacinthe
J
Savard
Programmes d'audiologie et d'orthophonie.
Josée
J
Lagacé
École des sciences infirmières, Université d'Ottawa.
Denyse
D
Pharand
Programmes d'audiologie et d'orthophonie.
Véronique
V
Vaillancourt
research methodology; systematic reviews, as topic; translation, cross-cultural validity