Translation, psychometric evaluation and validation of the “diabetes health profile-18” questionnaire in Arabic

INTRODUCTION: measuring quality of life requires an instrument validated in the population language. The purpose of our study was to translate and analyze the psychometric properties of the literary Arabic version of the “diabetes health profile (DHP)-18”. METHODS: we conducted a methodological study for psychometric evaluation and validation of the DHP-18, following the steps of the cross-cultural validation described by Vallerand. A convenience sample of people with diabetes was collected for this purpose. The developed questionnaire included participants‘ demographic characteristics, diabetes data and the experimental version of the DHP-18 questionnaire. Validity, reliability and questionnaire standards establishment were carried out. RESULTS: a sample of 333 diabetics was recruited. Test-retest correlation coefficient (r = 0.985; p<0.01) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (alpha = 0.840) showed that the experimental version was accurate in terms of temporal stability and internal consistency. The content validity index was 0.84 and showed that the questionnaire statements accurately measured the concepts under study. The exploratory principal axis factoring, using the orthogonal varimax rotation, allowed the extraction of a factorial solution with four independent factors, grouping the 18 items of the questionnaire. Correlation coefficients between the three corresponding dimensions of the theoretical model of the questionnaire were low and positive, between 0.431 and 0.535, confirming that each dimension measured a unique content. CONCLUSION: the literary Arabic version of the DHP-18 has proven to be valid, reliable and ready for use in clinical practice in Tunisian people with diabetes.