Health-related quality of life in French-speaking persons with chronic aphasia: adaptation and validation of the SAQOL-39F

BackgroundQuality of life measures related to health issues such as aphasia are essential to perform a comprehensive assessment of each individual situation and provide adequate care. The Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39) is a tool internationally recognized covering three domains: communication, physical and psychosocial. Currently, the SAQOL-39 is not validated in French.AimsThree experiments were conducted to: 1) adapt the SAQOL-39 in French, 2) validate the scale in persons with aphasia, 3) explore the responses given by neurotypical persons to this self-questionnaire.Methods and proceduresIn Experiment 1, guidelines were used for the cross-cultural adaptation of the SAQOL-39 in French. Preliminary testing of the scale was conducted in six persons with aphasia. In Experiment 2, twenty-two persons with chronic aphasia were recruited in Switzerland and in France. Participants completed the SAQOL-39F twice, as well as the Sickness Impact Profile 65 (SIP-65). Acceptability, reliability and validity were analyzed. In Experiment 3, twenty-two matched neurotypical controls completed the SAQOL-39F. We explored the specificity of the overall scale, of each domain and of each item.Outcomes and resultsThe SAQOL-39 was successfully adapted in French following a forward-backward translation procedure. The validation in persons with aphasia revealed good acceptability, validity and reliability of the scale. The exploration in a matched group of neurotypical individuals showed a good specificity of the overall scale and of the three domains assessed by the SAQOL-39, whereas a few individual items were not particularly discriminant.ConclusionThe present findings support the use of the SAQOL-39F in the assessment of French-speaking persons with aphasia.