Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Swallow Outcomes After Laryngectomy (SOAL) Questionnaire for Brazilian Portuguese

Abstract

Purpose: To adapt the Swallow Outcomes After Laryngectomy (SOAL) Questionnaire for the Brazilian culture. Method: Validation study restricted to translation and cross-cultural adaptation. The following steps were taken: discussion of the need for the instrument in the Brazilian context, two independent translations, summary of the translations, analysis by a committee of 12 expert judges in dysphagia and oncology, analysis of the judges’ comments and of the content validity indexes of each item and of the questionnaire as a whole, application of the questionnaire in a sample of 10 total laryngectomy patients, back translation and final summary. Results: It was necessary to perform semantic, syntactic/grammatical, experiential, idiomatic and content equivalences, mainly after the analysis by experts. The content validity indexes of each item and of the questionnaire were acceptable for all evaluated aspects. The back translation was equivalent to the original version. The comparison of the original, translated and back-translated versions indicated that the final version of the instrument was viable. Conclusion: The SOAL was adapted to the Brazilian culture was developed. The validation process will continue using the version presented in this study.