Brazilian Portuguese version and content validity of the Strengthening and Stretching for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH)

Abstract

Introduction: The Strengthening and Stretching for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH) program is a personalized, progressive 12-week exercise program for people with hand problems due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients are provided with two guidance documents, the ‘Patient Exercise Booklet’ and the ‘Personal Exercise Guide’, to continue the exercises independently at home. Objective: This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the SARAH protocol into Brazilian Portuguese and validate its content. Methods: The guidance documents ‘Patient Exercise Booklet’ and ‘Personal Exercise Guide’ of the SARAH program were translated and culturally adapted to Brazilian Portuguese. The content validity was obtained by calculating the content validity index (CVI). Results: The Brazilian version of the SARAH protocol reached semantic, idiomatic, conceptual, and cultural equivalences. The CVI was greater than 0.8, corresponding to a satisfactory index. The verbal comprehension was 4.9, showing good verbal comprehension of the target population. Conclusion: The Brazilian Portuguese version of the SARAH protocol is available to Brazilian people with compromised hands due to RA with satisfactory content validity.