The Psychometric Analysis of Urdu Version of Upper Extremity Functional Index;

A translation and cross-cultural adaptation Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND

The Upper Extremity Functional Index (UEFI) is frequently used to evaluate patients with upper limb disorders, yet it has not been translated and validated into Urdu. This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt UEFI into Urdu language (UEFI-U) and examine its psychometric measurements.

METHODOLOGY                   

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of original version of the UEFI was carried out using predefined international guidelines. UEFI-U, 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Visual analogue scale for pain (VASpain) and Visual analogue scale for disability (VASdisability) were administered to all participants at baseline and re-administered to patient’s group 3 weeks after receiving the intervention, the Global rate of change scale (GROC) was also administered at this time. The UEFI-U was evaluated for factor analysis, reliability, construct validity (discriminative and convergent validity) and responsiveness.

RESULTS

The UEFI-U was found internally consistent with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93.  The excellent test-retest reliability of the total FRI-U was demonstrated by its ICC_2,1 = 0.91. The UEFI-U has a unidimensional structure, constituting 75.18% of total variance. No floor or ceiling effect was observed for total score of UEFI-U. Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed a moderate correlation with SF36 physical function (r=0.68), SF36 role physical (r=0.60), VAS pain (r=-0.54) and VAS disability (r=-0.57) but fair correlation with SF36 bodily pain (r=0.42). A significant difference (p<0.001) in the UEFI-U total score was found between patients and healthy controls.

CONCLUSION

The results showed that UEFI-U is a reliable, valid, and responsive questionnaire to measure disability in Urdu-speaking population with upper extremity disorders.