Clinics ()

A Brazilian Portuguese cross-cultural adaptation of the modified JOA scale for myelopathy

  • Raphael R. Pratali,
  • Justin S. Smith,
  • Rodrigo L.N. Motta,
  • Samuel M. Martins,
  • Marcel M. Motta,
  • Ricardo D. Rocha,
  • Carlos Fernando P.S. Herrero

DOI
https://doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2017(02)06
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 72, no. 2
pp. 103 – 105

Abstract

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OBJECTIVES: To develop a version of the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) scale that had been translated into Portuguese and cross-culturally adapted for the Brazilian population. METHODS: The well-established process of forward-backward translation was employed along with cross-cultural adaptation. RESULTS: Three bilingual translators (English and native Portuguese) performed the forward translation of the mJOA scale from English to Portuguese based on iterative discussions used to reach a consensus translation. The translated version of the mJOA scale was then back-translated into English by a native English-speaking translator unaware of the concepts involved with the mJOA scale. The original mJOA scale and the back-translated version were compared by a native North American neurosurgeon, and as they were considered equivalent, the final version of the mJOA scale that had been translated into Portuguese and cross-culturally adapted was defined. CONCLUSION: To facilitate global and cross-cultural comparisons of the severity of cervical myelopathy, this study presents a version of the mJOA scale that was translated into Portuguese and cross-culturally adapted for the Brazilian population.

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