ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Patient-relevant outcomes are increasingly used as complementary evidence of effectiveness in the evaluation of treatment options. With the aim of utilization in objectively assessing the symptom's severity and the treatment outcomes of urinary incontinence in Korean population, we translated the Incontinence Quality of Life(I-QoL) instrument into Korean version which subsequently was linguistically validated. MATERIAL, METHODS AND RESULTS: Our study lasted for a period of about 8 months, between November 2001 and June 2002. Two native Koreans speakers, who were also fluent in English, translated the original U.S. English I-QoL into written Korean independently. A panel consisting of aforementioned translators and three bilingual authors reviewed the translations to form a single reconciled forward translation of the Korean I-QoL. Another translator, who had never seen the original I-QoL, back-translated this first draft to English. The back-translation was assessed for equivalence to the original by the Health Research Associates, Inc. (HRA). Discrepancies between the original U.S.-English form and the first draft Korean translation were reviewed by the panel. Cognitive debriefing interviews with five incontinent patients to test the interpretation of the translation were made. Summary of the changes was set to the HRA and the comments from patient interviews were then reflected in the final Korean version. Comparison of the Korean version of I-QoL with the original I-QoL was made to ensure conceptual equivalence during a meeting with professional translators representing many counties involved. Finally, it was proofread to check spelling, grammar, layout and formatting. CONCLUSION: Linguistic validation of Korean version of incontinence measure I-QoL was completed and was internationally approved. It is now ready to use in Korea and further test for psychometric performance of the Korean I-QoL is need.