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Cross-cultural adaptation into French and validation of the SCAR-Q questionnaire

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Abstract

Purpose

Most questionnaires designed to evaluate patient-reported outcomes regarding scarring are available in English. The objective was to generate a validated French version of the SCAR-Q questionnaire.

Methods

The SCAR-Q questionnaire (including Appearance, Symptom and Psychological impact scales) was translated into French using a translation-back-translation process in accordance with international guidelines (ISPOR and WHO). For validation, two hundred patients consulting in our tertiary center completed the questionnaire. We tested scale reliability (Cronbach’s α), floor/ceiling effects and item redundancy (inter-item correlations). Structural validity was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the robust weighted least squares (WLSMV) estimator and Delta parameterization. Model fit was examined using the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the comparative fit index (CFI) and the Tucker-Lewis index (TLI). Correlations between scales and scale repeatability were tested (Spearman coefficient, Intra-class-coefficient).

Results

Four steps were required to obtain a translation consistent with the original version. Two hundred patients completed the questionnaire for validation. Internal consistency analysis found Cronbach’s alphas > 0.7 for all scales (0.90 < α < 0.97). No floor or ceiling effect was found for all items (max = 85%). A ceiling effect was observed for all scales. Appearance and psychosocial impact scale items showed redundancy, with many inter-item correlations above 0.7. The CFA of the original structure displayed a reasonable fit, with RMSEA = 0.065, CFI = 0.974 and TLI = 0.972. Scales were positively correlated (0.45 <  ρ < 0.65; p < 0.001). Test–retest intra-class correlation coefficients ranged from 0.94 to 0.99 for all scales.

Conclusion

A French version of the SCAR-Q questionnaire is validated, ready for use.

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Funding

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Thomas Radulesco and Julien Mancini joint first authors.

  2. Martin Penicaud and Jean-Jacques Grob joint second authors.

  3. Marie-Aleth Richard and Patrick Dessi joint before last authors.

  4. Nausicaa Malissen and Justin Michel joint senior authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aix Marseille Univ, APHM, IUSTI, Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, La Conception University Hospital, Marseille, France

    Thomas Radulesco & Justin Michel

  2. Department of Public Health (BIOSTIC), Aix-Marseille Univ, INSERM, IRD, APHM, UMR1252, SESSTIM, Aix-Marseille University, Hôpital de la Timone, Marseille, France

    Julien Mancini

  3. APHM, Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, La Conception University Hospital, 13385, Marseille Cedex, France

    Martin Penicaud & Patrick Dessi

  4. Department of Dermatology and Skin Cancer, INSERM, CRCM, APHM, CHU Timone, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France

    Jean-Jacques Grob & Nausicaa Malissen

  5. Dermatology Department, CEReSS-EA 3279, Research Centrer in Health Services and Quality of Life Aix Marseille University, Universitary Hospital Timone, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille, APHM, 13385, Marseille, France

    Marie-Aleth Richard

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  1. Thomas Radulesco
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Contributions

TR: Conceptualization, Methodology. JM: Statistics. MP: Data curation; JJG: Original draft preparation. MAR: Supervision, PD: Data curation. NM: co-writing.: JM: Validation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Radulesco.

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Yes: We obtained an Ethical Committee Authorization (Authorization N° 2020-67).

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Radulesco, T., Mancini, J., Penicaud, M. et al. Cross-cultural adaptation into French and validation of the SCAR-Q questionnaire. Qual Life Res 30, 1225–1231 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-020-02719-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-020-02719-8

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