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Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Work Role Functioning Questionnaire to Spanish Spoken in Spain

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Abstract

Purpose The Work Role Functioning Questionnaire (WRFQ) is a tool developed in the United States to measure work disability and assess the perceived impact of health problems on worker ability to perform jobs. We translated and adapted the WRFQ to Spanish spoken in Spain and assessed preservation of its psychometric properties. Methods Cross-cultural adaptation of the WRFQ was performed following a systematic 5-step procedure: (1) direct translation, (2) synthesis, (3) back-translation, (4) consolidation by an expert committee and (5) pre-test. Psychometric properties were evaluated by administering the questionnaire to 40 patients with different cultural levels and health problems. Applicability, usability, readability and integrity of the WRFQ were assessed, together with its validity and reliability. Results Questionnaire translation, back translation and consolidation were carried out without relevant difficulties. Idiomatic issues requiring reformulation were found in the instructions, response options and in 2 items. Participants appreciated the applicability, usability, readability and integrity of the questionnaire. The results indicated good face and content validity. Internal consistency was satisfactory for all subscales (Cronbach’s alpha between 0.88 and 0.96), except for social demands (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.56). Test–retest reliability showed good stability, with intraclass correlation coefficients between 0.77 and 0.93 for all subscales. Construct validity was considered preserved based on the comparison of median scores for each patient group and subscale. Conclusions Our results indicate the cross-cultural adaptation of the WRFQ to Spanish was satisfactory and preserved its psychometric properties, except for the subscale of social demands, whose internal consistency should be interpreted with caution.

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Acknowledgments

We want to thank Concepción Gómez-Morán, Carlos Enric Delclós, M ª José Román and Cliff Grossman for their professional involvement in the direct and back translation of the WRFQ. Thanks to Julià del Prado, Josefina Pi-Sunyer, Rocío Villar for their kind participation with the translators in the Expert Committee, and Nuria González, Chelo Sancho and Carmen Sánchez for their collaboration in the distribution and collection of questionnaires, all of them staff of the Occupational Health Service, Parc de Salut MAR (OHS PSMAR), Barcelona. Also thanks to Joan Mirabent (OHS PSMAR), Marta Tejero and Gemma Pidemont for their patient and generous collaboration in the recruitment process of patients. Finally, thanks so much to Ram Dulthummon, José Ramada, Borja Ramada and Ángeles Ramada for their generous collaboration creating and assessing the quality of the database. This project has been partially supported by a grant from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS: PI12/02556), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research in Occupational Health (CiSAL), University Pompeu Fabra, PRBB Building, Dr. Aiguader, 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    José M. Ramada, Consol Serra & George L. Delclos

  2. Occupational Health Service, Parc de Salut MAR, Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim, 25-29, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    José M. Ramada & Consol Serra

  3. CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain

    José M. Ramada, Consol Serra & George L. Delclos

  4. Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Texas, 6901 Bertner, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Benjamin C. Amick III & George L. Delclos

  5. Psychiatry Service, Parc de Salut MAR, Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim, 25-29, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Juan R. Castaño

  6. Neuropsychiatry and Addictions Institute (INAD), Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim, 25-29, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Juan R. Castaño

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  1. José M. Ramada
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  2. Consol Serra
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  3. Benjamin C. Amick III
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  4. Juan R. Castaño
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  5. George L. Delclos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Consol Serra.

Appendix 1: Work Role Functioning Questionnaire adapted to Spanish Spoken into Spain

Appendix 1: Work Role Functioning Questionnaire adapted to Spanish Spoken into Spain

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Ramada, J.M., Serra, C., Amick III, B.C. et al. Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Work Role Functioning Questionnaire to Spanish Spoken in Spain. J Occup Rehabil 23, 566–575 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-013-9420-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-013-9420-6

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