Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of The Dyspnea-ALS-Scale (DALS-15).

Methods

Forward translation, back translation, and cross-cultural adaptation were used to ensure the equivalency of translated version of the scale. Then, patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who have dyspnea or orthopnea that develops with effort or at rest were evaluated using DALS-15 via online surveys. The respiratory subscale of ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) and Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale (MBDS) was used to investigate the construct validity of the Turkish DALS-15. Reliability was assessed with Cronbach’s α and inter-item correlation matrix (internal consistency).

Results

We have included 52 ALS patients in the study. Findings showed that Turkish version of DALS-15 was highly correlated with respiratory subscale of ALSFRS-R (r = − 0.668; p = < 0.0001) and MBDS (for upright position: r = 0.728; p = < 0.0001 and for supine: r = 0.78; p = < 0.0001). The scale did not show any ceiling or floor effect. Also, DALS-15 had a high level of Cronbach’s α (0.95) and internal consistency (ICC: 0.949; 95%CI: 0.92–0.96). Test-re-test reliability of the questionnaire was (ICC: 0.909; 95% CI: 0.81–0.95). The standard error of measurement value was 2.76, whereas the minimal detectable change score was 7.66 points for the translated version of the scale.

Conclusions

The Turkish version of DALS-15 possesses strong psychometric properties with excellent validity and reliability. It is shown to be useful for online self-assessment, outside of the clinical settings, especially in hard times such as a pandemic.

中文翻译：

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土耳其语版“呼吸困难-ALS-量表（DALS-15）”的有效性和可靠性

目的

本研究的目的是调查土耳其语版呼吸困难-ALS-量表 (DALS-15) 的有效性和可靠性。

方法

使用正向翻译、反向翻译和跨文化适应来确保量表翻译版本的等效性。然后，通过在线调查使用 DALS-15 对患有呼吸困难或端坐呼吸困难的肌萎缩侧索硬化 (ALS) 患者进行评估。使用 ALS 功能评定量表修订版 (ALSFRS-R) 和改良 Borg 呼吸困难量表 (MBDS) 的呼吸分量表来研究土耳其语 DALS-15 的结构效度。使用 Cronbach α和项目间相关矩阵（内部一致性）评估可靠性。

结果

我们在研究中纳入了 52 名 ALS 患者。结果表明，土耳其语版的 DALS-15 与 ALSFRS-R ( r  = − 0.668; p  = < 0.0001) 和 MBDS（直立位：r  = 0.728; p  = < 0.0001 和仰卧位：r  = 0.78；p  = < 0.0001)。秤没有显示任何天花板或地板效应。此外，DALS-15 具有高水平的 Cronbach α(0.95) 和内部一致性（ICC：0.949；95%CI：0.92–0.96）。问卷的重测信度为（ICC：0.909；95% CI：0.81–0.95）。测量值的标准误差为 2.76，而量表翻译版本的最小可检测变化得分为 7.66 分。

结论

DALS-15 的土耳其语版本具有强大的心理测量特性，具有出色的有效性和可靠性。它被证明可用于临床环境之外的在线自我评估，尤其是在大流行等困难时期。