BACKGROUND: There are no published reports of cross-cultural equivalence and interrater reliability at the level of individual symptom items assessed by a semi-structured clinical interview employing operationalised clinician ratings. AIMS: To assess the cross-cultural clinical equivalence and reliability of a Chinese version of the World Health Organization Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN). METHOD: UK-US and Taiwanese groups of psychiatrists used Chinese and English transcripts of videotape interviews of Taiwanese patients to discuss cross-cultural issues and ratings of SCAN items. Item ratings were compared quantitatively individually and pooled by SCAN section. RESULTS: Chinese equivalents were found for all SCAN items. No between-group differences were found for most individual items, but there were differences for some scaled items. Average agreement between the two groups was 69-100%. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-cultural implementation based on SCAN in Taiwan appears valid.
BACKGROUND: There are no published reports of cross-cultural equivalence and interrater reliability at the level of individual symptom items assessed by a semi-structured clinical interview employing operationalised clinician ratings. AIMS: To assess the cross-cultural clinical equivalence and reliability of a Chinese version of the World Health Organization Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN). METHOD: UK-US and Taiwanese groups of psychiatrists used Chinese and English transcripts of videotape interviews of Taiwanese patients to discuss cross-cultural issues and ratings of SCAN items. Item ratings were compared quantitatively individually and pooled by SCAN section. RESULTS: Chinese equivalents were found for all SCAN items. No between-group differences were found for most individual items, but there were differences for some scaled items. Average agreement between the two groups was 69-100%. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-cultural implementation based on SCAN in Taiwan appears valid.
Authors: Chau-Shoun Lee; Jung-Chen Chang; Chia-Yih Liu; Ching-Jui Chang; Tony H H Chen; Chien-Hsiun Chen; Andrew T A Cheng Journal: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Date: 2008-07-11 Impact factor: 4.328