Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Contribution to the Validation of the Portuguese Version of the GAIT

Introduction: The Gait Assessment and Intervention Tool (GAIT) is an observational gait scale designed to identify and evaluate gait pattern alterations in individuals with Stroke. Objective: To translate, culturally adapt, and validate the European Portuguese version of the GAIT, ensuring its applicability in clinical practice and research. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in two phases: (1) Translation and cultural adaptation, following international guidelines, including translation, back-translation, review by a panel of 11 experts and pre-testing; (2) Content validation, assessed by a panel of nine experts using the Content Validity Index (CVI). Results: The final Portuguese version of the GAIT achieved 100% agreement among experts in the pre-test phase. In content validation, 30 out of 31 items were rated as "very relevant" or "quite relevant" (I-CVI ≥ 0.87), resulting in an S-CVI of 0.996, indicating excellent content validity. Discussion: The Portuguese version of the GAIT demonstrated conceptual equivalence with the original scale and strong content validity. These findings suggest that the GAIT is a reliable and valuable tool for post-stroke gait assessment, supporting the identification of specific gait impairments and the implementation of targeted interventions. Conclusion: The high content validity scores and strong expert agreement support the use of the Portuguese GAIT in clinical practice and research. Future studies should evaluate its inter- and intra-rater reliability and explore its integration with digital technologies for gait analysis.