The Afrikaans Translated and Culturally Adapted Version of the STarT Back Tool

The Afrikaans Translated and Culturally Adapted Version of the STarT Back Tool

Introduction:
Low back pain is a debilitating condition worldwide. The management of low back pain patients can be very effective, especially if the correct approach to management is followed from the onset. The STarT Back Tool is a validated quick and easy self-administered questionnaire that enables clinicians to stratify a patients management option according to their score achieved when they have completed the questionnaire. This effective stratification tool is however not available in the Afrikaans language, the third most spoken language in South Africa. Afrikaans speaking low back pain patients cannot be assessed and stratified with the original English version, as the effectiveness of any questionnaire is dependent on the culture and language of the target population that it is attempting to assess.

Aim:
The aim of this study was to produce a culturally
adapted and linguistically accurate Afrikaans translation of the English original version of the STarT Back Tool. Objectives To successfully use the 6-stage process described by Beaton et al.,2007 to translate and culturally adapt the English STarT Back tool into Afrikaans.

Methodology:
The cross-cultural adaptation and translation of the STarT Back Tool will be performed by using
the methods outlined by Beaton et al., 2007. It can be outlined as the following 6 stage process
with regards to producing the Afrikaans version of the STarT Back Tool: Stage 1: Translation, Stage 2: Synthesis, Stage 3: Back Translation, Stage 4: Expert Committee Review, Stage 5: Pre-Testing, Stage 6: Final Stage.

Results:
The six-stage translation process proved
effective in translating and culturally adapting the English STarT Back Tool into Afrikaans.

Discussion:
The results of this study produced a linguistically translated and culturally adapted Afrikaans version of the STarT Back Tool.

Conclusion:
The Afrikaans version of the STarT Back Tool (STarT- A) can now be used to screen and stratify Afrikaans speaking patients presenting with low back pain.

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