Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33797687›Full record

ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2021

Enabling cross-cultural data pooling in trials: linguistic validation of head and neck cancer measures for Indian patients.

Chindhu Shunmugasundaram, Haryana M Dhillon, Phyllis N Butow, Puma Sundaresan, Claudia Rutherford

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Understanding data visualization techniques in qualitative studies used to develop and validate patient-reported outcome measures: a targeted literature review.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025
    Review
  3. Psychological distress of patients with head and neck cancer following various oncologic treatments-A longitudinal study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. The Patient Concerns Inventory in head and neck oncology: a structured review of its development, validation and clinical implications.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2022
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Chindhu ShunmugasundaramCentre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. chindhu.shunmugasundaram@sydney.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9638-8219
Haryana M DhillonCentre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4039-5169
Phyllis N ButowCentre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3562-6954
Puma SundaresanRadiation Oncology Network, Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia.
Claudia RutherfordQuality of Life Office, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4637-4572

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHead and neck cancers (HNC) and their treatments cause dysfunction and distress. Ongoing psychological assessment using disease-specific patient-reported measures may optimize clinical decision-making, facilitate interventions to reduce psychosocial burden. As most such measures are developed in English, non-English speaking patients are disadvantaged. This study translated HNC-specific measures (Body Image Scale, Patient Concerns Inventory, Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety and Depression Scales and Patient Health Questionnaire-9) into three Indian languages (Hindi, Tamil and Telugu) and linguistically validated them.

methodsTranslation followed established guidelines on translation and linguistic validation of measures. Process involved two independent forward translations, reconciliation, two independent backward translations by bilingual experts, and cognitive debriefing interviews with nine healthcare professionals (HCPs) and 29 HNC patients. Translated versions were compared with the original versions for semantic, cultural and conceptual equivalence.

resultsOverall, 17 Hindi items, 19 Tamil items and 13 Telugu items were identified to have semantic, cultural and/or conceptual issues. These were resolved to achieve equivalence with the original measures. Interviews with HCPs indicated that equivalent terms for words such as anxiety, panicky, sexuality, and self-conscious might be difficult to understand. Interviews with patients indicated all items were understandable, easy, sensitive, unambiguous and relevant. Hence, no further revisions were made.

conclusionsThe translated Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions of the Body image scale, Patient concerns inventory, Zung's self-rating anxiety and depression scales and Patient health questionnaire-9 measures are conceptually and linguistically validated and equivalent with the original English versions. Psychometric validation of these measures with relevant patient populations is needed.

Indexed as

Cross-Cultural ComparisonHead and Neck NeoplasmsHumansIndiaLinguisticsQuality of LifeSurveys and QuestionnairesTranslationsCognitive debriefingCultural adaptationEquivalenceLinguistic validationPatient-reported outcome measuresTranslation

Identifiers

PMID33797687

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.