Spanish adaptation of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39)

Aim. The stroke and aphasia quality of life scale-39 is an interviewer administered questionnaire that has been developed and validated in the United Kingdom to be applied to patients with chronic aphasia as a consequence of a stroke. The objective of this article was to translate the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life-39 Scale (SAQOL-39) into Spanish language, and evaluate its acceptability and reliability. Methods. The cross-cultural adaptation of the SAQOL-39 into Spanish was carried out by following the translation and back-translation method. Twenty three patients with long-term aphasia due to stroke were tested. The patients were interviewed twice in a period from 2 to 12 days. The acceptability of the Spanish SAQOL-39 was evaluated by examining the floor/ceiling effects and the missing data. The reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha (internal consistence) and intraclass correlation coefficients (test-retest reliability) for the overall scale and its subdomains. Results. There were no difficulties to translate the original version into Spanish. There was good acceptability demonstrated by minimal missing data and floor/ceiling effects. Test-retest reliability for the overall score, and the sub-scales scores was 0.949 (0-854-0.944). internal consistency analysis by Cronbach's alpha was 0.950 (0.851-0.900). Conclusion. This small scale study provided preliminary evidence for the acceptability and reliability of the Spanish version of the SAQOL-39. Further testing in Larger samples is needed to evaluate the validity of die scale, its sensitivity to change and to confirm its reliability.