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Translation, Adaptation, and Reliability of Modern Standard Arabic Version of the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire

Hani Al-Abbad and Ahmad Al-Howimel

Purpose: To culturally translate and test the reliability and validity of the Modern Standard Arabic version of Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) for chronic non-specific low back pain (LBP) in the Arabic-speaking population.

Background: The RMDQ is a popular reliable and validated tool for measuring functional disability in low back pain. However, a reliable Modern Standard Arabic version is not available.

Methods: The RMDQ Modern Standard Arabic translation and cross-cultural adaptation was performed using the “forward translation/backward translation” method. The final version was tested among Arabic-speaking chronic nonspecific LBP patients. The internal consistency was assessed by means of the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The convergent validity was assessed calculating Pearson’s correlation coefficient comparing the RMDQ’s results with the amount of pain that was assessed by the visual analogue scale (VAS), and the range of movement of the spine by fingertip-floor length test (FFL).

Results: A total of 40 participants (mean age 44.4 years (SD: 12.51), 65% female) were enrolled in the study. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) within a seven-day interval was 0.948 indicating adequate acceptance. The RMDQ's convergent validity showed positive correlation with the VAS (r: 0.299; P<0.061) and with the FFL (r: 0.292; P<0.067).

Conclusion: The Modern Standard Arabic version of the RMDQ has good internal consistency and reliability to be a useful clinical and research tool for the assessment of functional disability caused by LBP among the Arabicspeaking population.