Translation and Psychometrics Evaluation of the Persian Version WatLX Patient Experience Survey of Outpatient Rehabilitation Care

Objective Patient-centered care is the cornerstone of the healthcare system’s priorities. Attaining this goal necessitates a comprehensive understanding of patients’ encounters within the healthcare system to identify areas for quality improvement. To achieve this, healthcare providers and regulators require dependable, cost-effective, and user-friendly tools to assess and report the quality of patients’ healthcare experiences as part of ongoing service quality audits. The Waterloo Wilfrid Laurier University rehabilitation patient experience instrument (WatLX) is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring patients’ experiences in outpatient rehabilitation services. Accordingly, this study explores the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the WatLX in Persian-speaking people receiving outpatient rehabilitation services. Materials & Methods In this descriptive methodological study, we enrolled 115 adults aged 18 and above, possessing a suitable cognitive level, who had undergone at least one program of musculoskeletal, neurological, stroke, speech, and language rehabilitation services on an outpatient basis. The research targeted 10 centers and clinics specializing in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, strategically selected across five geographical areas of Tehran (North, South, East, West, and Center) in the year 2023, utilizing an available sampling method. The participants were asked to complete the following three questionnaires: WatLX, abbreviated mental test, and the Medrisk instrument for measuring patient satisfaction with physical therapy care. Additionally, participants’ background information was collected. The Persian-translated questionnaire was examined for face and content validity using the Lavashe method. The convergent validity was established through comparison with the Medrisk questionnaire. The Cronbach α value was computed to evaluate the internal consistency, while the test re-test reliability involved 39 subjects completing the questionnaire again 15 days after the initial test, with calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS software, version 23. Results The questionnaire underwent rigorous scrutiny for content validity by experts in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, rehabilitation management, and statistics. The results revealed strong internal consistency (Cronbach α=0.802), high test re-test reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.974), and satisfactory convergent validity, demonstrated by the significant Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.503 with the Medrisk questionnaire. Conclusion The Persian version of the WatLX tool exhibits commendable psychometric properties, making it a reliable instrument for assessing the experiences of Persian-speaking Iranian patients in outpatient rehabilitation services. Its robustness suggests its applicability in both clinical settings and future research studies.