French-Canadian translation and validation of four questionnaires assessing hearing impairment and handicap

Abstract

Objective: Questionnaires evaluating hearing impairment are available in English but there is a need for French standardised questionnaires for researchers as well as for audiologists and other clinicians. The objective of this study is to describe the translation and validation of four questionnaires that assess different aspects of hearing impairment and handicap among elders with hearing loss, by comparing the main score and psychometric evaluation of original and French-Canadian (FC) versions of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale II (WHO-DAS II), the Screening Test for Hearing Problems (STHP), the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) and the Measure of Audiologic Rehabilitation Self-Efficacy for Hearing Aids (MARS-HA). Design: Vallerand method: translation and back-translation by two translators, revision by a committee of experts and pre-tested with five bilingual older participants. Study sample: Participants (n = 29) were 65 years of age or older including 21 with hearing aids. Results: The psychometric properties (internal consistency, temporal stability after four weeks) indicate good reliability for most of the translated questionnaires and their subscales, especially the WHO-DAS II. Conclusions: The translations in FC of two hearing loss and two hearing aid questionnaires were validated. It is recommended to pursue the demonstration for temporal stability for the STHP.

Key Words:

• Hearing impairment measurement instrument
• hearing aids
• handicap
• translation
• trans-cultural questionnaire validation
• psychometric testing

Acknowledgements

This study was made possible by a fund obtained from a Partnership of Quebec Rehabilitation Research Network (REPAR), the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et des services sociaux (CIUSSS) du Centre-sud de l’île de Montréal – Institut Raymond-Dewar and the CIUSSS de la Capitale Nationale – Institut de réadaptation en déficience physique de Québec. Also, we want to thank Université Laval’s Faculty of Medicine which offered a bursary to Audrey Clothier who completed a summer research internship under one of the researcher’s supervision. Finally, the authors wish to thank the audiologists Mrs Dale Bonnycastle and Mr Ronald Choquette for the back translations, the professional translator Mrs Lorraine Paquet, as well as the five participants who contributed to the pre-test.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.