German translation of the PROMIS® pediatric anxiety, anger, depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain interference and peer relationships item banks.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed at the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of six PROMIS® pediatric self- and proxy- item banks and short forms to universal German: anxiety (ANX), anger (ANG), depressive symptoms (DEP), Fatigue (FAT), pain interference (P) and peer relationships (PR). METHODS: Using standardized methodology approved by the PROMIS Statistical Center and in line with recommendations of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) PRO Translation Task Force, two translators for each German-speaking country (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) commented on and rated the translation difficulty and provided forward translations, followed by a review and reconciliation phase. An independent translator performed back translations, which were reviewed and harmonized. The items were tested in cognitive interviews with 58 children and adolescents from Germany (16), Austria (22), and Switzerland (20) for the self-report and 42 parents and other caregivers (Germany (12), Austria (17), and Switzerland (13)) for the proxy-report. RESULTS: Translators rated the translation difficulty of most items (95%) as easy or feasible. Pretesting showed that items of the universal German version were understood as they were intended, as only 14 out of 82 items of the self-report and 15 out of 82 items of the proxy-report versions required minor rewording. However, on average German translators rated the items more difficult to translate (M = 1.5, SD = 0.20) than the Austrian (M = 1.3, SD = 0.16) and the Swiss translators (M = 1.2, SD = 0.14) on a three-point Likert scale. CONCLUSIONS: The translated German short forms are ready for use by researchers and clinicians ( https://www.healthmeasures.net/search-view-measures ).

A multitude of questionnaires exist, which are not comparable due to different questions or no available translations. PROMIS is an initiative, which was funded by the National Institute of Health in the US, to build better, i.e., more precise and efficient questionnaires, which can be used and compared worldwide. The PROMIS questionnaires include paper-and-pencil short forms and computerized adaptive tests. So far numerous PROMIS surveys have been created using advanced methodologies. They can be used by health care professionals to assess different aspects of health and compare the results internationally. To allow for international comparability of studies using those questionnaires, they need to be translated. This study reports the thorough translation process of the US-American PROMIS^® questionnaires measuring anxiety, anger, depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain interference, and peer relationships in children and adolescents into German. The translation included researchers, children, and parents from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to ensure that the final German version is fully and equally well understood in all of those German-speaking countries. The article describes the translation process, so that the user can understand the translations and use them in an informed way. The translated German questionnaires are ready for use by researchers and clinicians. ( https://www.healthmeasures.net/search-view-measures ).

Correction to: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of eight pediatric PROMIS® item banks into Spanish and German.

In the original publication of the article, two of the author names "L. A. Schröder, F. Metzner" and email address of the authors "J. Devine, J. Moon, A. C. Haller" were missed out. The correct author group with affiliations are provided in this correction.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of eight pediatric PROMIS® item banks into Spanish and German.

PURPOSE: The Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded initiative to develop reliable, valid, and normed item banks to measure health. We describe the first large-scale translation and cross-cultural adaptation effort to German and Spanish of eight pediatric PROMIS item banks: Physical activity (PAC), subjective well-being (SWB), experiences of stress (EOS), and family relations (FAM). METHODS: We utilized methods outlined in the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) PRO Translation Task Force recommendations. Ten professional translators performed a translatability assessment and generated forward translations. Forward Translations were compared within a country and cross-culturally to identify problems and to produce a consensus-derived version, which was then back translated, evaluated, and revised where necessary. Reconciled versions were evaluated in cognitive interviews with 126 children before finalization. RESULTS: Eight resulting pediatric PROMIS® item banks were translated: Two PAC banks (22 total items), three SWB banks (125 total items), two EOS banks (45 total items), and one FAM bank (47 total items). Up to 92% of all items raised no or only minor translation difficulties, 0-5.6% were difficult to translate. Up to 20% item revisions were necessary to ensure conceptual equivalence and comprehensibility. Cognitive interviews indicated that 91-94% of the final items were appropriate for children (8-17 years). CONCLUSIONS: German and Spanish translations of eight PROMIS Pediatric item banks were created for clinical trials and routine pediatric health care. Initial translatability assessment and rigorous translation methodology helped to ensure conceptual equivalence and comprehensibility. Next steps include cross-cultural validation and adaptation studies.

Effects of hibernation on interradicular alveolar bone.

The interradicular alveolar bones of the nonhibernating and hibernating ground squirrels were compared using light and transmission electron microscopy. During hibernation changes occurring in the bone suggest osteocytic osteolysis. Minerals may be mobilized from bone for utilization elsewhere in the body to maintain a minimal metabolic level for survival.