Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the Chinese version of the STarT Back Screening Tool in patients with low back pain.

STUDY DESIGN: Translation and psychometric testing. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to investigate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the STarT Back Screening Tool (STarT) in Chinese-speaking patients with low back pain (LBP) after translation and cultural adaptation. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: To date, no previous studies exist on the translation process and validation of the Chinese version of the STarT. METHODS: The procedure of translation, which included 6 stages, was performed according to the current recommended guidelines. Psychometric testing included face validity, test-retest reliability, and discriminant validity. A total of 307 patients completed a questionnaire booklet containing the Chinese version of the STarT, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia-17, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Seventy-four randomly selected patients were asked to finish the STarT a second time within 24 to 48 hours. The demographic characteristics and outcomes of psychometric testing were compared with the original English cohort. RESULTS: No items of the final version had reported ambiguity after the face validation and no floor or ceiling effects were noted. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.933 (95% confidence interval, 0.896-0.957), demonstrating very good reliability. Discriminant validity was established, with area under curve results in the range from 0.751 to 0.893 (95% confidence interval, 0.697-0.930) in the Chinese cohort compared with 0.840 to 0.925 (95% confidence interval, 0.772-0.948) in the original English cohort. CONCLUSION: The results confirm the successful translation and adaptation of the STarT into Chinese, with appropriate reliability and validity. Therefore, this version can be recommended for clinical and research use for Chinese patients with LBP.