Translation and pilot validation of Hindi translation of assessing quality of life in patients with primary brain tumours using EORTC brain module (BN-20).

AIM

To translate and validate the European Organisation for Research and Treatment for Cancer (EORTC) brain cancer module (BN-20) into Hindi to make it available for patients and scientific community.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The EORTC BN-20 was translated into Hindi using standard guidelines by EORTC. The process included forward translation by two translators, discussion with the translators in case of discrepancies and formation of first intermediate questionnaire. This questionnaire was then given to two more translators who translated this questionnaire back into English. These 2 questionnaires were then compared with the original EORTC questionnaire and the second intermediate questionnaire was formed. The second intermediate questionnaire was subsequently administered in 10 patients with brain tumors who had never seen the questionnaire before, for pilot-testing. Each of these 10 patients after filling up the questionnaire themselves was then interviewed for any difficulty encountered during the filling up of the questionnaire. These were in the form of specific modules including difficulty in answering, confusion while answering and difficulty to understand, whether the questions were upsetting and if patients would have asked the question in any different way. There were major suggestions in three questions, which were incorporated into the second intermediate questionnaire to form the final Hindi BN-20 questionnaire.

CONCLUSION

The final Hindi BN-20 has been approved by EORTC and can be used in clinical practice and studies for patients with brain tumors.