Medisur (Nov 2023)
Linguistic and cultural adaptation of the generalized anxiety disorder scale for patients with epilepsy in the Cuban context
Abstract
Foundation: the generalized anxiety disorder scale is useful to evaluate this psychiatric condition in patients with epilepsy; however, it has not been adapted linguistically or culturally for patients with this disease in the Cuban context.Objective: linguistically and culturally adapt the generalized anxiety disorder scale for patients with epilepsy in the Cuban context. Methods: I+D+i technological development work, carried out in three stages: linguistic and cultural adaptation, evaluation by criteria of experts on the subject and trial in patients with epilepsy. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were combined: consultation with linguists and experts, trial, debriefing, Cronbach's alpha (α) and item elimination analysis.Results: the linguists proposed minimal semantic changes to two items of the scale. The debriefing showed that the scale can be administered in less than five minutes, with appropriate and harmless items. The α = 0.83 of the trial showed good reliability of the test. It was not necessary to eliminate any items from the scale and the item-total correlations remained above the minimum level (>0.300).Conclusions: the semantic and cultural adaptation of the scale to Spanish, as spoken in Cuba, preserves equivalence with the original version. It is recommended to verify the reliability and validity of the GAD-7 scale in a representative of patients with epilepsy in the Cuban context.
