Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the neurogenic bladder symptom score

Purpose The neurogenic bladder symptom score (NBSS) represents the effect of disease-specific symptoms on the quality of life in patients with neurogenic bladder (NB). The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the NBSS in spinal cord injury (SCI) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Methods The cross cultural adaptation was achieved through forward and back translation of the items of the original version by an expert committee. Face and content validity were evaluated in a prepatient group. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were used for reliability assessment in 102 patients. Validity was examined using Short Form-12 and King's Health Questionnaire. Results Eighty-four patients with SCI and 18 with MS were included in the study. Cronbach's alpha values for the total score and the incontinence, storage/voiding, and consequences domains were 0.90, 0.91, 0.81, and 0.63, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficients were >0.80 for all subdomains and the overall score. The correlation analyses indicated that the Turkish version has good construct validity. Conclusions Our results showed that the Turkish version of the NBSS has good reliability and validity in patients with SCI and MS and can be used to evaluate NB symptoms.