Evaluating self-reported pressure ulcer prevention measures in persons with spinal cord injury using the revised Skin Management Needs Assessment Checklist: Reliability study

Abstract

Study design:Cross-cultural adaptation and reliability study.Objective:To translate, evaluate the reliability and cross-culturally adapt the Skin Management Needs Assessment Checklist (SMnac), a questionnaire evaluating the knowledge on pressure ulcer (PU) prevention measures in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).Subjects:138 persons with SCI, mean age 45.9 years, mean time since injury 94 months.Material and method:The study was carried out in two stages. First, the questionnaire went through a forward-backward translation process and was cross-culturally adapted, according to a validated methodology for self-reported measures. Then, the test-retest reliability was evaluated on a population of persons with SCIResults:The standardized back-translation and cross-cultural adaptation led to the revised Smack grid, with the addition of seven items representing an update of PU prevention measures. The reliability was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.899).Conclusion:The revised SMnac is an adaptation of the SMnac, including therapeutic education frameworks and the latest PU prevention practices. It appears to be a reliable tool for assessing the knowledge and benefits of PU prevention in persons with SCI. Further studies are needed to explore its validity and responsiveness to change. © 2011 International Spinal Cord Society All rights reserved.