Adaptation, translation and reliability of the Australian ‘Juniors Enjoying Cricket Safely’ injury risk perception questionnaire for Sri Lanka

OBJECTIVES: Cricket is a very popular sport in Sri Lanka. In this setting there has been limited research; specifically, there is little knowledge of cricket injuries. To support future research possibilities, the aim of this study was to cross-culturally adapt, translate and test the reliability of an Australian-developed questionnaire for the Sri Lankan context. METHODS: The Australian ‘Juniors Enjoying Cricket Safely’ (JECS-Aus) injury risk perception questionnaire was cross-culturally adapted to suit the Sri Lankan context and subsequently translated into the two main languages (Sinhala and Tamil) based on standard forward-back translation. The translated questionnaires were examined for content validity by two language schoolteachers. The questionnaires were completed twice, 2 weeks apart, by two groups of school cricketers (males) aged 11–15 years (Sinhala (n=24), Tamil (n=30)) to assess reliability. Test–retest scores were evaluated for agreement. Where responses were <100% agreement, Cohen’s kappa (κ) statistics were calculated. Questions with moderate-to-poor test–retest reliability (κ<0.6) were reconsidered for modification. RESULTS: Both the Sinhala and Tamil questionnaires had 100% agreement for questions on demographic data, and 88%–100% agreement for questions on participation in cricket and injury history. Of the injury risk perception questions, 72% (Sinhala) and 90% (Tamil) questions showed a substantial (κ=0.61–0.8) and almost perfect (κ=0.81–1.0) test–retest agreement. CONCLUSION: The adapted and translated JECS-SL questionnaire demonstrated strong reliability. This is the first study to adapt the JECS-Aus questionnaire for use in a different population, providing an outcome measure for assessing injury risk perceptions in Sri Lankan junior cricketers.