Adapting and validating the Satisfaction with Assistive Technology Services (SATS) scale for the Korean context

This study aimed to culturally adapt and validate the Satisfaction with Assistive Technology Service (SATS) instrument for the South Korean context, addressing the unique needs of assistive technology users and enhancing service-satisfaction evaluation. Following "Principles of Good Practice" guidelines, the SATS was translated into Korean, involving forward and backward translation, cognitive debriefing, and pre-testing with AT users and professionals. Reliability and validity were assessed through internal-consistency measures, test-retest reliability, and concurrent-validity comparison with the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology, Korean version. The SATS-K demonstrated high reliability and validity, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.94 (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The test - retest reliability, indicated by the intraclass correlation coefficient, was 0.92 (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Furthermore, the Pearson coefficient of the correlation between the SATS-K and the QUEST-K scores was 0.934 (<i>p</i> < 0.01), highlighting strong concurrent validity. The version showed notable distinctions in "instruction & training" satisfaction compared to European versions. Despite the potential statistical benefits of excluding the "waiting time" item, its retention was deemed crucial for capturing comprehensive service-satisfaction insights, particularly for highlighting the need for addressing service-delivery times. The SATS-K provides a culturally and linguistically adapted tool for evaluating AT-service satisfaction, offering significant insights for service improvement.