Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Arabic Version of Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ-Ar)

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) affect millions of people worldwide. Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ) is a valid and reliable tool to assess the health of patients with MSD. However, this scale is not available in the Arabic language. The purpose of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ) into Arabic (MSK-HQ-Ar) and evaluate its validity and reliability among participants with MSD. Methods: This cross-sectional study used guidelines from the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) to translate as well as validate the psychometric properties of MSK-HQ-Ar. Patients with MSD (n = 149) living in Taif participated in the study. Cronbach’s alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to assess internal consistency and test-retest reliability of MSK-HQ-Ar respectively. Spearman’s correlation was used to assess the correlation between MSK-HQ-Ar and the European quality of life five-dimension, five-level scale (EQ-5D-5L). Results: Out of 149 participants, 119 completed the MSK-HQ-Ar twice. The scale showed good internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha (0.88), and reliability (ICC 0.92–0.95). A strong association was found with the EQ-5D-5L scores. Conclusion: The adapted MSK-HQ-Arabic version revealed acceptable psychometric properties and is a valid and reliable outcome measure to assess MSK health among Arabic speaking patients with MSD.