The Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire: cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the Italian version in people with chronic low back pain
Publication Details
Monticone, M.,
Maurandi, C.,
Porcu, E.,
Arippa, F.,
Wand, B.,
&
Corona, G.
(2024).
The Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire: cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the Italian version in people with chronic low back pain.
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 25.
Abstract
Background and aim: There is evidence to suggest that assessing back-specifc altered self-perception may be useful when seeking to understand and manage low back pain (LBP). The Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire (FreBAQ) is a patient-reported measure of back-specifc body perception that has never been adapted and psychometrically analysed in Italian. Hence, the objectives of this research were to cross-culturally adapt and validate the Italian version of this outcome measure (namely, the FreBAQ-I), to make it available for use with Italians suffering from chronic LBP.
Methods: The FreBAQ-I was developed by forward and backward translation, review by a committee skilled in patient-reported measures and test of the pre-final version to assess its clarity, acceptability, and relevance. The statistical analyses examined: structural validity based on Rasch analysis; hypotheses testing by investigating correlations of the FreBAQ-I with the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), a pain intensity numerical rating scale (PINRS), the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS), and the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) (Pearson’s correlations); reliability by internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) and test–retest repeatability (intraclass correlation coefcient, ICC (2,1)); and measurement error by determining the minimum detectable change (MDC). After the development of a consensus-based translation of the FreBAQ-I, the new outcome measure was delivered to 100 people with chronic LBP.
Results: Rasch analysis confirmed the substantial unidimensionality and the structural validity of the FreBAQ-I. Hypothesis testing was considered good as at least 75% of the hypotheses were confrmed; correlations: RMDQ (r=0.35), PI-NRS (r=0.25), PCS (r=0.41) and TSK (r=0.38). Internal consistency was acceptable (alpha=0.82) and test– retest repeatability was excellent (ICC (2,1)=0.88, 95% CI: 0.83, 0.92). The MDC95 corresponded to 6.7 scale points.
Conclusion: The FreBAQ-I was found to be a unidimensional, valid, and reliable outcome measure in Italians with chronic LBP. Its application is advised for clinical and research use within the Italian speaking community.
Keywords
Low back pain, Rehabilitation, Rasch analysis, Validity, Reliability, Measurement error
Link to Publisher Version (URL)
