Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Chinese version of the vestibular activities and participation measure

BACKGROUND: The activities and participation component of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) has gained increasing recognition in rehabilitation field. The vestibular activities and participation measure (VAP) was the first instrument using the ICF to evaluate activities and participation outcomes for vestibular research and clinical practice. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to cross-culturally adapt the VAP into Chinese language and to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of VAP (VAP-C). METHODS: A standard “forward-backward” translation procedure was followed and the results were presented to the panel of experts and consensus was sought. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability examined by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Convergent validity was determined by calculating the Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the VAP-C and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI). Discriminative validity for test subjects versus control subjects was evaluated by Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: Minor revisions were made during translation to ensure semantic equivalence and to suit Chinese culture. A total of 121 patients complaining of dizziness or vertigo due to peripheral vestibular disorders (test subjects) and 41 control subjects were enrolled. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.94 for the VAP-C total scale and greater than 0.80 for the two subscales. ICC for the VAP-C total scale was 0.78, and for subscale one was 0.77 and subscale two 0.76. The VAP-C had strong correlations (r = 0.85–0.88) with the VAS and fair to moderate correlations (r = 0.23–0.53) with DHI. Through ROC analysis, we found the VAP-C discriminated significantly between patients and control subjects. Based on the estimate of Youden J, the optimal cut-off values for VAP-C total and the two subscales were established. CONCLUSIONS: The VAP-C shows evidence of reliability and validity, which can be applied for evaluating the impact of the vestibular disorder on patients’ activities and participation in Chinese language populations.