Assessing patients' self-efficacy in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: translation, content and face validation of the "Understanding COPD Questionnaire"

BACKGROUND: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a condition that badly influences patients' quality of life. The self-efficacy reached by educational programs is related to the patient's satisfaction, as active participation is fundamental to physical improvement and learning new skills. AIM: To translate in Italian and assess the content and face validity of the "Understanding COPD (UCOPD) Questionnaire" pourposed by Dr. B. O'Neill in 2012. METHODS: Once author's consent was gained, the forward Italian translation was independently performed by two native speakers. The reconciliated Italian version was then backward translated by two english speakers with comments, according to the "European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life" guidelines. The final version was analyzed by experts to evaluate the level of relevance of each item using a 4-point Likert Scale. From these results we calculated the Item and Scale Content Validity Index (I-CVI; S-CVI). Subsequently, face validity was conducted by asking non-experts, using semi-structured interviews, if the survey was clear and easy to understand. RESULTS: For the content validity analysis were enrolled 5 physicians, 4 nurses, 2 physiotherapists ). The survey showed a good level of content validity (S-CVI 0.90, I-CVI 0.63-1). The face validity analysis was conducted on 7 people affected by COPD. They declared to understand and clearly read all the items of the questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: The translated UCOPD Questionnaire was confirmed in its content and face validity. NURSING IMPLICATIONS: Further perspectives are the use of the questionnaire to assess the level of self-efficacy and satisfaction in a cohort of Italian patients.