| Sub-title | |
| Author | M A Vassallo |
| Abstract | Aim: To have an officially apporved translation of a generic quality of life questionnaire, the EQ-5D (EuroQol-5 dimensions), into the Maltese language. Method: The English version of the EQ-5D was independently translated into Maltese by two experienced translators creating two Maltese versions. A consensus version was obtained from the two translations and sent back to the EuroQol Bussiness Management together with a report on the translation process. The FACIT back translated the first consensus version into two English versions by two independent translators and these were compared to the original version. A second consensus version was produced after incorporating the necessary changes and this was submitted to the EuroQol Bussiness Management. The second consensus version was tested on 8 lay respondents, native speakers of the Maltese language. The respondents were a mix of healthy individuals and patients. The healthy individuals consisted of 4 individuals aged 33-73 years with a M:F ratio of 3:1. The patient group consisted of 4 individuals aged 51-67 years with a M:F ratio of 1:3 with an average of one chronic illness. The questionnaire was self-completed by the respondents. The respondents were timed during the completion of the questionnaire. When the questionnaire was completed feedback was obtained from the respondnets about any difficulties with understanding or answering the question/instruction, ambigous wording, whether the language used was easy to understand and whether the respondent would ask the question or formulate the instruction in another way. Based on the comments from lay subjects a third consensus version was produced which was sent to the EurQol translation review team for a final version of the EQ-5D in the Maltese language. Conclusion: An officially approved Maltese version of the EQ-5D has been produced and the next step would be to validate it on a larger sample of the Maltese population. |
Published in: | |
| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | 18 Supplement |
| Page | |
| Date | 01/12/2006 |
| Link to journal | |
| Key words | EQ-5D health questionnaire, maltese language |