Repeatability and reliability of the footwear assessment tool in Spanish patients: A transcultural adaptation.

BACKGROUND: The footwear assessment tool was designed to advise an appropriate footwear for each situation and patient. Footwear alterations structures can influence in musculoskeletal disorders, developing foot ulcers, increase the peak plantar pressure, bacterial growth, low back pain. METHODS: To validate the study 101 subjects were recruited. The study was tested by two expert podiatrists using the tool for the assessment of footwear characteristics that is composed by five domains, fit, general features, general structure, motion control properties and cushioning system. Each domain analyzes different shoe items. RESULTS: An excellent agreement between the test-retest. A suitable Cronbach's α was suggested for the five domains of fit (α = 0.952), general features (α = 0.953), general structure (α = 0.947), motion control properties (α = 0.951), and cushioning system (α = 0.951). Test-retest reliability was excellent for all domains. There were no significant differences between any domain (p > 0.05). There was only statistically significant difference in the item forefoot height (p = 0.011). For all the domains items there were no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The tool for the assessment European footwear is a suitable repeatability and reliability footwear tool that can be used in Spanish language subjects.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Test-Retest Reliability of the Spanish ROWAN Foot Pain Assessment Questionnaire (ROFPAQ-S).

BACKGROUND: The ROWAN Foot Pain Assessment Questionnaire (ROFPAQ) may be considered as a self-reported health questionnaire with 45 items to measure foot health problems such as foot pain. To date, the ROFPAQ has only been validated into an English-language version. OBJECTIVES: Therefore this study aim was to perform the cross-cultural adaptation and test-retest reliability of the Spanish ROFPAQ version (ROFPAQ-S). STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTINGS: Podiatry and physiotherapy clinical centers. METHODS: The recommended forward/backward translation protocol was applied for the procedure of translation and cross-cultural adaptation from United Kingdom to Spain. RESULTS: An adequate internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) was shown for the 3 domains about cognitive (alpha = 0.763-0.792), affective (alpha = 0.751-0.801), and sensory (alpha = 0.741-0.733) subscales, as well as for the total score (alpha= 0.822-0.813). Good test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC [95% confidence interval]) was shown for the total score (ICC = 0.909 [0.850-0.944]), and each domain such as cognitive (ICC = 0.785 [0.648- 0.869]), affective (ICC = 0.995 [0.991-0.997]), and sensory (ICC = 0.662 [0.447-0.794]) subscales. The Spearman correlations (rs) were adequate for the cognitive (rs = 0.81-0.83), affective (rs = 0.73-0.72), and sensory (rs = 0.67-0.63) subscales. LIMITATIONS: The original ROFPAQ was developed from a podiatry department of the health care national service. CONCLUSIONS: The ROFPAQ-S was shown as a valid and reliable tool with an acceptable use in the Spanish population. KEY WORDS: Foot, quality of life, chronic pain, health impact assessment, validation studies.

Validation in the General Population of the iHealth Track Blood Pressure Monitor for Self-Measurement According to the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol Revision 2010: Descriptive Investigation.

BACKGROUND: High blood pressure is one of the most common reasons why patients seek assistance in daily clinical practice. Screening for hypertension is fundamental and, because hypertension is identified only when blood pressure is measured, accurate measurements are key to the diagnosis and management of this disease. The European Society of Hypertension International Protocol revision 2010 (ESH-IP2) was developed to assess the validity of automatic blood pressure measuring devices that are increasingly being used to replace mercury sphygmomanometers. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether the iHealth Track blood pressure monitor meets ESH-IP2 requirements for self-measurement of blood pressure and heart rate at the brachial level and is appropriate for use in the general population. METHODS: This study was a descriptive investigation. ESH-IP2 requires a total number of 33 participants. For each measure, the difference between observer and device blood pressure and heart rate values is calculated. In all, 99 pairs of blood pressure differences are classified into 3 categories (≤5, ≤10, and ≤15 mm Hg), and 99 pairs of heart rate differences are classified into 3 categories (≤3, ≤5, and ≤8 beats/min). We followed these protocol procedures in a convenience sample of 33 participants. RESULTS: iHealth Track fulfilled ESH-IP2 requirements and passed the validation process successfully. We observed an absolute difference within 5 mm Hg in 75 of 99 comparisons for systolic blood pressure, 78 of 99 comparisons for diastolic blood pressure, and 89 of 99 comparisons for heart rate. The mean differences between the test and standard readings were 4.19 (SD 4.48) mm Hg for systolic blood pressure, 3.74 (SD 4.55) mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure, and 1.95 (SD 3.27) beats/min for heart rate. With regard to part 2 of ESH-IP2, we observed a minimum of 2 of 3 measurements within a 5-mm Hg difference in 29 of 33 participants for systolic blood pressure and 26 of 33 for diastolic blood pressure, and a minimum of 2 of 3 measurements within a 3-beat/min difference in 30 of 33 participants for heart rate. CONCLUSIONS: iHealth Track readings differed from the standard by less than 5, 10, and 15 mm Hg, fulfilling ESH-IP2 requirements. Consequently, this device is suitable for use in the general population.