FACE-Q Head and Neck Cancer Questionnaire for Brazilian Portuguese: Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Linguistic Validation

Abstract

Introduction: Head and neck neoplasms often affect fundamental functions, such as swallowing, speech, eating, and socializing. Evaluating their treatment should consider the physician’s opinion and the patient’s perspective. This difficulty in assessing the success of treatment led to the development of the FACE-Q Head and Neck Cancer Module, a questionnaire of patient-reported outcomes that measure the appearance, facial function, quality of life, and experience of care to head and neck neoplasms. The objective is to translation, cultural adaptation, and linguistic validation of the FACE-Q Head and Neck Cancer questionnaire for Brazilian Portuguese. Methods: The translation, cultural adaptation, and linguistic validation of the full questionnaire took place in four stages, using official guidelines from the World Health Organization and the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research. Results: A semantic, idiomatic, and conceptually equivalent Brazilian Portuguese version was achieved through a linguistically validated translation of the English FACE-Q Head and Neck Cancer module. Conclusion: The Brazilian Portuguese version presents a version equivalent to the original English instrument, which can be used as a critical patient-reported outcome assessment.

Keywords

• head and neck neoplasms
• reconstructive surgical procedures
• quality of life
• patient outcome assessment
• outcome assessment, health care