Alessio Conti1,2, Marco Clari3, Sara Arese4, Barbara Bandini5, Lucia Cavallaro6, Silvia Mozzone4, Ercole Vellone7, Simona Frigerio4, Sara Campagna3. 1. Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, Torino, Italy. alessio.conti@unito.it. 2. A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza Hospital, Torino, Italy. alessio.conti@unito.it. 3. Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, Torino, Italy. 4. A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza Hospital, Torino, Italy. 5. A.O.U. Careggi Hospital, Firenze, Italy. 6. A.O. Cannizzaro Hospital, Catania, Italy. 7. Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Roma, Italy.
Abstract
STUDY DESIGN: Validation cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVE: To adapt the Spinal Cord Injury Secondary Conditions Scale (SCI-SCS) to Italian and to assess the validity and reliability of this instrument. SETTING: Multicentre study in outpatient clinics of three urban spinal units across Italy. METHODS: After a five-step translation/validation process, the Italian SCI-SCS was administered in a toolset composed of a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Modified Barthel Index, the Short-Form 8, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9, and the General Anxiety Disorder 7. The Italian SCI-SCS construct validity was assessed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the instrument were evaluated using Cronbach's α and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the total scale and its subscales. Pearson's correlation coefficient with all administered instruments was calculated to evaluate the concurrent validity. RESULTS: One-hundred fifty-six participants were recruited from February to October 2018. EFA suggested a three-factor structure explaining 45% of the total variance. After experts' consideration about the clinical relevance of its components, a final version of the Italian SCI-SCS with four different subscales and 15 items was proposed. The total scale Cronbach's α was 0.73. The ICC agreement for test-retest reliability was 0.91. Correlations of the Italian SCI-SCS with the administered instruments were statistically significant (p < 0.05), highlighting congruent hypothesized relations. CONCLUSION: Findings of this study provided a first psychometric evaluation of the SCI-SCS. The modified Italian version of this tool may represent a valuable instrument for the longitudinal assessment of the impact of secondary conditions in people with SCI.
STUDY DESIGN: Validation cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVE: To adapt the Spinal Cord Injury Secondary Conditions Scale (SCI-SCS) to Italian and to assess the validity and reliability of this instrument. SETTING: Multicentre study in outpatient clinics of three urban spinal units across Italy. METHODS: After a five-step translation/validation process, the Italian SCI-SCS was administered in a toolset composed of a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Modified Barthel Index, the Short-Form 8, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9, and the General Anxiety Disorder 7. The Italian SCI-SCS construct validity was assessed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the instrument were evaluated using Cronbach's α and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the total scale and its subscales. Pearson's correlation coefficient with all administered instruments was calculated to evaluate the concurrent validity. RESULTS: One-hundred fifty-six participants were recruited from February to October 2018. EFA suggested a three-factor structure explaining 45% of the total variance. After experts' consideration about the clinical relevance of its components, a final version of the Italian SCI-SCS with four different subscales and 15 items was proposed. The total scale Cronbach's α was 0.73. The ICC agreement for test-retest reliability was 0.91. Correlations of the Italian SCI-SCS with the administered instruments were statistically significant (p < 0.05), highlighting congruent hypothesized relations. CONCLUSION: Findings of this study provided a first psychometric evaluation of the SCI-SCS. The modified Italian version of this tool may represent a valuable instrument for the longitudinal assessment of the impact of secondary conditions in people with SCI.