Arabic translation and adaptation of Critical Care Family Satisfaction Survey

Objective. To translate and adapt the Critical Care Family Satisfaction Survey (CCFSS), and test its validity and reliability for use in Saudi Arabia. Setting. Seven hundred-bed tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. Participants. Seventy-six adult relatives of patients who had been cared for in an intensive care unit for 24 hrs or more. Interventions. The CCFSS, a battery of 20 items divided into five subscales, was translated into Arabic. After transfer of patients to regular inpatient units, interviewers administered the survey to their next-of-kin. Respondents ranked their satisfaction with each item on a 5-point Likert scale. Main outcome measures. Subscale scores were calculated as the average of the individual item scores. The total scale score was the sum of the subscale scores. Results. The total scale and 'Information', 'Support', 'Comfort' and 'Assurance' subscales showed acceptable internal consistency (Spearman's correlation coefficient of the total score with each of the subscale scores = 0.52-0.81, P < 0.01; Cronbach's alpha = 0.67-0.88). But the 'Proximity' subscale performed poorly (r = 0.48, P < 0.01; Cronbach's alpha = 0.36). Discriminant validity was tested with a Spearman's rank correlation matrix of the subscales, and ranged from weak between 'Support' and both 'Assurance' and 'Information' (r = 0.80) to substantial between 'Information' and 'Proximity' (r = 0.54) (P < 0.01). Conclusion. This Arabic translation and adaptation of the CCFSS is a valid, reliable and feasible tool to evaluate family satisfaction in Saudi Arabian intensive care units.