Linguistic and cultural adaptation and validation of the questionnaire on vulvovaginal symptoms among the patients with vulvovaginal atrophy
Apolikhina I.A., Kazakova S.N., Yarotskaya E.L., Gorbunova E.A., Bychkova A.E.
Objective: To carry out linguistic and cultural adaptation and validation of the English-language version of the Vulvovaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (VSQ) proposed by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) as an effective tool for assessing the severity of symptoms of vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA), as well as the effectiveness of its treatment. Materials and methods: Following the protocols of such studies, the forward-backward translation of the VSQ questionnaire was done. Subsequently, an intermediate Russian-language version of the questionnaire was completed by 20 patients. After finding and correcting the discrepancies, the final Russian-language version of the VSQ questionnaire was approved. The study group included 120 postmenopausal patients with symptoms of VVA who completed the questionnaire twice (test-retest) with an interval of 10–14 days. Results: The statistical analysis of the data (Cronbach’s α=0.983) showed a high degree of reliability of the test results. This conclusion is also supported by very high indicators of retest reliability of the questionnaire (ICC>0.9). The results of the intra-class correlation coefficient and retest reliability of the Russian-language version of the VSQ questionnaire prove that it is a reliable and valid tool for assessing the severity of the VVA symptoms. Conclusion: The research findings show that the Russian-language version of the VSQ questionnaire is an effective, reliable and valid method for the subjective assessment of the severity of the VVA symptoms. It is recommended to use this questionnaire in research and in the daily practice of gynecologists including the assessment of therapy effectiveness.
Authors’ contributions: Apolikhina I.A., Kazakova S.N., Gorbunova E.A., Bychkova A.E. – collection and analysis of the material; Kazakova S.N., Yarotskaya E.L. – adaptation and translation of the questionnaire into Russian.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no possible conflicts of interest.
Funding: The study was conducted without sponsorship.
Patient Consent for Publication: The patients provided an informed consent for participation in the study and for the publication of their data.
Authors' Data Sharing Statement: The data supporting the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author after approval from the principal investigator.
For citation: Apolikhina I.A., Kazakova S.N., Yarotskaya E.L., Gorbunova E.A., Bychkova A.E. Linguistic and cultural adaptation and validation of the questionnaire on vulvovaginal symptoms among the patients with vulvovaginal atrophy. Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2023; (10): 177-182 (in Russian) https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2023.228
Keywords
vulvovaginal atrophy
menopause
validation
language adaptation
cultural adaptation
sexual dysfunction
dyspareunia
genitourinary syndrome of menopause
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Received 03.10.2023
Accepted 18.10.2023
About the Authors
Inna A. Apolikhina, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor, Head of the Department of Aesthetic Gynecology and Rehabilitation, V.I. Kulakov NMRC for OG&P, Ministry of Health of Russia; Professor at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Perinatology and Reproductology of the Institute of Professional Education, I.M. Sechenov First MSMU,Ministry of Health of Russia, i_apolikhina@oparina4.ru, 4 Akademika Oparina str., Moscow, 117997, Russia.
Svetlana N. Kazakova, post-graduate student of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Perinatology and Reproductology, V.I. Kulakov NMRC for OG&P,
Ministry of Health of Russia, s-juice@mail.ru, 4 Akademika Oparina str., Moscow, 117997, Russia.
Ekaterina L. Yarotskaya, Dr. Med. Sci., Head of the Department of International Cooperation, V.I. Kulakov NMRC for OG&P, Ministry of Health of Russia,
e_yarotskaya@oparina4.ru, 4 Akademika Oparina str., Moscow, 117997, Russia.
Elena A. Gorbunova, obstetrician-gynecologist at the Department of Aesthetic Gynecology and Rehabilitation, V.I. Kulakov NMRC for OG&P, Ministry of Health of Russia, el_gorbunova@oparina4.ru, 4 Akademika Oparina str., Moscow, 117997, Russia.
Anastasia E. Bychkova, obstetrician-gynecologist at the Department of Aesthetic Gynecology and Rehabilitation, V.I. Kulakov NMRC for OG&P, Ministry of Health of Russia, a_bychkova@oparina4.ru, 4 Akademika Oparina str., Moscow, 117997, Russia.
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