Background: This study was designed to translate, culturally adapt,
and validate a Brazilian Portuguese version of the Short Musculoskeletal
Function Assessment Questionnaire (SMFA-BR).
Methods: The SMFA was translated from English into Brazilian
Portuguese. Translations were synthesized, translated back into English, and
then submitted to a committee of clinical, psychometric, and language experts.
The questionnaire was then administered to 220 trauma patients at a midsize
hospital in southern Brazil. Test-retest reliability was examined at one and
seven days. Scale reliability and validity were assessed, and factor structure
was analyzed.
Results: Patients with only one region of dysfunction reported less
dysfunction than did patients with two or three regions of dysfunction. Both
the SMFA-BR dysfunction and the SMFA-BR bother scores had significant
correlations with all Brazilian Short Form-36 (SF-36) subscales except for
bodily pain. Test-retest reliabilities, as determined by intraclass
correlation analyses, were 0.99 (95% confidence interval, 0.97, 1.00) at one
day (n = 10) and 0.99 (95% confidence interval, 0.96, 1.00) at seven days (n =
17) for the dysfunction index and 0.99 (95% confidence interval, 0.98, 1.00)
at one day (n = 10) and 0.97 (95% confidence interval, 0.97, 1.00) at seven
days (n = 17) for the bother index. Cronbach alpha reliabilities were 0.95
(95% confidence interval, 0.93, 0.97) and 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.89,
0.94) for the dysfunction and bother indices, respectively. Minimal ceiling
and floor effects were observed for the bother subscale only. Exploratory
factor analysis yielded a three-factor structure: upper-extremity dysfunction,
lower-extremity dysfunction, and bother.
Conclusions: A reliable and valid Brazilian Portuguese version of
the SMFA was developed. It will facilitate the examination of functional
performance within a large patient population as well as allow cross-cultural
comparisons.