Reliability and validity of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39) for a Serbian population

Abstract

Purpose: Aphasia has a negative impact on a person’s quality of life (QOL). The Stroke Aphasia Quality of Life-39 scale (SAQOL-39) is a widely-used measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) developed for people with aphasia that has been translated into several languages. Its psychometric properties have been examined not only in English, but also in other languages. This study examined the reliability and validity of a translation and adaptation of the SAQOL-39 into Serbian in Serbian-speaking people with aphasia.

Method: Using forward and backward translation, the SAQOL-39 was translated and adapted from English into Serbian and its psychometric properties were examined in 90 Serbian-speaking people with a broad range of times post-onset of aphasia. Internal consistency, test–retest reliability and other analyses were conducted.

Result: Internal consistency and test–retest reliability of the Serbian version was high (Cronbach’s α > 0.9; ICC ≥0.87), which is similar to versions of the scale in other languages.

Conclusion: The Serbian translation and adaptation of the SAQOL-39 was shown to be a valid and reliable measure of QOL in people with aphasia with reliable psychometric properties and is suitable for the assessment of Serbian people with aphasia.

Keywords:

• Quality of life
• Aphasia
• Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39
• SAQOL-39
• Serbian

Declaration of interest

All authors have contributed to the research reported in this paper and have agreed on its content. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute for Psychophysiological Disorders and Speech Pathology, Belgrade. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants gave their consent to participate in the research. The authors declare no conflicts of interest and funding was neither sought or obtained for the research.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2021.1971298.