Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the cooking task to the French-Canadian context: assessing the impact of executive function disorders through cooking activities

Abstract

Background

Acquired brain injury (ABI) often leads to deficits in executive functioning (EF) which is responsible for severe and longstanding disabilities in activities of daily living. The “Cooking Task” (CT), an ecological test of EF involving multi-tasking, was developed in France and exhibits excellent psychometric properties but has not yet been adapted and validated for the French-Canadian context.

Objectives

Conduct a cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the CT for the French-Canadian context.

Methods

The CT was translated and adapted by a committee of experts and was validated.

Results

Adaptation-changes were made to the language (e.g., cartable vs classeur), the materials (e.g., measuring cup vs scale), and the measuring units (e.g., ml/cups vs grams). Validation-Preliminary analyses were conducted on 24 participants with an ABI and 17 controls. Construct convergent validity: The French-Canadian-CT discriminates between ABI and control total score on the CT and on most error type categories. Construct known-group validity: French-Canadian-CT scores correlated with another measure of EF deficits (Dysexecutive Questionnaire and Six Elements Task). Inter-rater reliability score for the total error was high (ICC= .84) and results were similar to those obtained for the France-CT.

Contributions

This study will provide a new ecologically valid tool for clinicians in Canada.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Acquired brain injury often leads to deficits in executive functioning which is responsible for severe and longstanding disabilities in activities of daily living.

• Ecological assessments are used to evaluate the impact of executive function disorders on activities of daily living.

• The “Cooking Task” (CT), an ecological test of EF involving multi-tasking, exhibits excellent psychometric properties.

• The adaptation and validation of the Cooking Task in Canadian French will provide a new measurement tool for occupational therapists in Canada (French-speaking OT or French-speaking patient).

Keywords:

• Acquired brain injury
• ecological assessment
• executive function
• occupational therapy
• rehabilitation
• cross-cultural adaptation
• reliability
• validity

Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our thanks to all the participants with and without acquired brain injuries who participated in the study and without whom this project would not have been possible. We would also like to thank the participants and experts from the expert committee for their help in adapting the Cooking Task to the Canadian context. As well, thank you to the Association Québécoise des Traumatisés Crâniens (AQTC) des deux rives and more specifically Olivier Piquer and Mélanie Gilbert for their help with recruitment and for welcoming us in their offices for testing. Thank you to Andréanne Guindon and Mushirah Hossenbaccus from Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay and the Association des Traumatisés cranio-cérébraux de la Montérégie (ATCCM) for their help with recruitment. Thank you to Delphine Fargues, Neuropsychologist who trained the research team on administering the Six Element Test.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). Note that F. Poncet is one of the developers of the Cooking Task (CT), but this author does not receive royalties associated with the use of their tool.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in large part by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal Start-up Fund and this student project received financial support from the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy of McGill University.