Translation, cross cultural adaption and validation of World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (36-item version, interviewer administered) into Bangla

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) created the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) in 1998 because disability information is important for health. A person's functioning in six important life domains—cognition, mobility, self-care, getting along, daily activities, and involvement in society—is captured by WHODAS 2.0 (WHODAS-2), which was developed to expand the breadth and applicability of the ICF. Due to factors including overcrowding, poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, and a lack of access to healthcare, disabilities are quite common. In order to facilitate future comparisons as well as validity testing, this research attempts to translate, culturally modify, and verify WHODAS 2.0 into Bangla.

Methods: The research, carried out at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka, included 46 adult individuals with medical disorders and challenges in performing tasks. The original English WHODAS 2.0 was translated into Bangla for preliminary surveys. A pilot study was performed to evaluate the comprehensibility along with the accuracy of the pre-final version. Authorization to translate the English version was secured in accordance with Beaton et al.'s suggestion. The completed questionnaire's reliability and validity were evaluated in the second step.

Results: The research included 40 patients, having a mean age of 36.25±12.18 years. The predominant demographic was male, with an average of 72.5%. The majority were uneducated, with just 17.5% possessing reading and writing skills. The majority of them were married, separated, widowed, or cohabiting. The majority were self-employed. The WHODAS 2.0 surveys have satisfactory internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.955 for all 38 questions. The authors advocate for an alpha greater than 0.7, which is the benchmark for all scales. The computed ICC is 0.975, situated between the range of 0.962-0.985.

Conclusion: The Bangla version of WHODAS 2.0 demonstrates internal consistency, validity, responsiveness, and usability, exhibiting strong discriminative qualities for evaluating impairment in patients.

J Shaheed Suhrawardy Med Coll 2024; 16(2): 69-78