Translation and adaption of the interRAI suite to local requirements in Belgian hospitals

BMC Geriatrics

Research Article

Nathalie IH Wellens¹  Philip Moons¹  Mieke Deschodt²  Koen Milisen²  Johan Flamaing³  Steven Boonen⁴ 

[1] Center for Health Services and Nursing Research, PB 7001/4, Kapucijnenvoer 35, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium;Center for Health Services and Nursing Research, PB 7001/4, Kapucijnenvoer 35, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium;Leuven University Division of Geriatric Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;Leuven University Division of Geriatric Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;Leuven University Division of Geriatric Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;Leuven University Center for Metabolic Bone Diseases, Leuven, Belgium;

关键词: Aged;    Geriatric assessment;    Inpatient;    interRAI Acute Care;    Minimum Data Set;    Validation studies;    Instrument translation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2318-12-53

 received in 2011-11-23, accepted in 2012-08-31,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe interRAI Suite contains comprehensive geriatric assessment tools designed for various healthcare settings. Although each instrument is developed for a particular population, together they form an integrated health evaluation system. The interRAI Acute Care Minimum Data Set (interRAI AC) is tailored for hospitalized older persons. Our aim in this study was to translate and adapt the interRAI AC to the Belgian hospital context, where it can be used together with the interRAI Home Care (HC) and the interRAI Long Term Care Facility (LTCF).MethodsA systematic, comprehensive, and rigorous 10-step approach was used to adapt the interRAI AC to local requirements. After linguistic translation by an official translator, five researchers assessed the translation for appropriate hospital jargon. Three researchers double-checked for translation accuracy and proposed additional items. A provisional version was converted into the three official languages of Belgium—Flemish, French, and German. Next, a multidisciplinary panel of nine experts judged item relevance to the Belgian care context and advised which country-specific items should be added. After these suggestions were incorporated into the interRAI AC, hospital staff from nine Flemish hospitals field-tested the tool in their practice. After evaluating field-test results, we compared the interRAI AC with Belgian versions of the interRAI HC and interRAI LTCF. Next, the Flemish, French, and German versions of the Belgian interRAI portfolio were harmonized. Finally, we submitted the Belgian interRAI AC to the interRAI organization for ratification.ResultsEighteen administrative items of the interRAI AC were adapted to the Belgian healthcare context (e.g., usual residence, formal community services prior to admission). Fourteen items assessing the ‘informal caregiver’, and 17 items, including country-specific items, were added (e.g., advanced directive for euthanasia).ConclusionsThe interRAI AC was adapted to local requirements using a meticulous and recursive 10-step approach. As use of the interRAI Suite continues to grow worldwide and as it continues to expand to other care settings and populations, this procedure can guide future translations. This procedure might also be used by others facing similar challenges of complex translation and adaptation situations, where multidimensional instruments are used across multiple care settings in multiple languages.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Wellens et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.