ArticlePloS one2021
Translating best practice into real practice: Methods, results and lessons from a project to translate an English sexual health survey into four Asian languages.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Medication Nonadherence Among US Immigrants: Complex Roles of Insurance, Citizenship, and Length of Time in the United States.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Using AI in Forward-Backward Translation of Questionnaires for Men Invited to Prostate Cancer Screening: Methodological Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Implementation matters: program impact pathway analysis of four sectoral nutrition-sensitive interventions in Anambra and Kebbi states, Nigeria.Global health action · 2025Article
- Top 10 Research Lessons Learned From a Digital Child-Rearing Program in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Multicase Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Validation of the short index of job satisfaction in Chinese nurses: classical test theory and item response theory.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025Article
- R-AI-diographers: a European survey on perceived impact of AI on professional identity, careers, and radiographers' roles.Insights into imaging · 2025Article
- Localization of the Autism Spectrum Disorder Knowledge Scale Professional Version (ASKSP-R) in western cities of China.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation: A Critical Step in Multi-National Survey Studies.Journal of Korean medical science · 2024Review
- Forward and Back is Not Enough: Applying Best Practices for Translation of Pediatric Sleep Questionnaires.Frontiers in sleep · 2024Article
- The Spanish translation, adaptation, and validation of a Community-Engaged Research survey and a pragmatic short version: Encuesta Comunitaria and FUERTES.Journal of clinical and translational science · 2024Article
- A Web-Based Audio Computer-Assisted Self-interview Application With Illustrated Pictures to Administer a Hepatitis B Survey Among a Myanmar-Born Community in Perth, Australia: Development and User Acceptance Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- HIV-Related Knowledge and Practices among Asian and African Migrants Living in Australia: Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey and Qualitative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Autism spectrum disorder knowledge scale: Chinese revision of the general population version.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Strategies for Recruiting Migrants to Participate in a Sexual Health Survey: Methods, Results, and Lessons.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Exploring the translation process for multilingual implementation research studies: a collaborative autoethnography.BMJ global health · 2022Article
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10 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundMigrants are underrepresented in population health surveys. Offering translated survey instruments has been shown to increase migrant representation. While 'team translation' represents current best practice, there are relatively few published examples describing how it has been implemented. The purpose of this paper is to document the process, results and lessons from a project to translate an English-language sexual health and blood-borne virus survey into Khmer, Karen, Vietnamese and Traditional Chinese.
methodsThe approach to translation was based on the TRAPD (Translation, Review, Adjudication, Pretesting, and Documentation) model. The English-language survey was sent to two accredited, independent translators. At least one bilingual person was chosen to review and compare the translations and preferred translations were selected through consensus. Agreed translations were pretested with small samples of individuals fluent in the survey language and further revisions made.
resultsOf the 51 survey questions, only nine resulted in identical independent translations in at least one language. Material differences between the translations related to: (1) the translation of technical terms and medical terminology (e.g. HIV); (2) variations in dialect; and (3) differences in cultural understandings of survey concepts (e.g. committed relationships).
conclusionSurvey translation is time-consuming and costly and, as a result, deviations from TRAPD 'best practice' occurred. It is not possible to determine whether closer adherence to TRAPD 'best practice' would have improved the quality of the resulting translations. However, our study does demonstrate that even adaptations of the TRAPD method can identify issues that may not have been apparent had non-team-based or single-round translation approaches been adopted. Given the dearth of clear empirical evidence about the most accurate and feasible method of undertaking translations, we encourage future researchers to follow our example of making translation data publicly available to enhance transparency and enable critical appraisal.
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