Khalid Tanzeela Y, Adamali Huzaifa, Zahoor Najma, Drew Sarah, Clark Emma M
Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Musculoskeletal Research Unit, Learning and Research Building, Southmead Hospital, Bristol, BS10 5NB, UK.
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2025 Jul 18;26(1):691. doi: 10.1186/s12891-025-08837-z.
Vertebral fractures associated with osteoporosis are common in individuals over 65, yet most cases go undiagnosed. This is concerning as those with vertebral fractures are at an increased risk of future fractures. To address this gap in healthcare, and facilitate diagnosis, so that bone-protective medications can be initiated, we developed and validated a clinical decision tool called 'Vfrac'. Vfrac assists healthcare professionals in determining whether an older person with back pain requires a spinal radiograph to diagnose vertebral fractures. However, because Vfrac was developed in English, it remains inaccessible to non-English speakers. Given the high prevalence of vertebral fractures in South Asians, our study aimed to translate Vfrac from English to Urdu using a cross-cultural adaptation approach based on a standardised framework.
Vfrac was translated into Urdu by five independent translators who were provided with information about the tool's purpose and its components. Five different translators then back-translated the Urdu versions into English. A group of bilingual healthcare professionals and members of the public who spoke both English and Urdu reviewed and discussed the translations in reference to the original English questionnaire. The group selected the translations that best conveyed the intended meaning of each question, producing a final Urdu version of Vfrac. A bilingual healthcare professional conducted a final review and audio-recorded the Urdu Vfrac for accessibility.
The group of bilingual adults consisted of two healthcare professionals and three lay members, of whom four were female, and all aged 25 to 69 years. The final translated version of Vfrac written in Urdu was produced, ensuring it accurately reflected the original English version's meaning. To improve accessibility, an audio-recorded version was also created.
This study successfully adapted an English language clinical checklist, Vfrac, into Urdu through a structured cross-cultural adaptation process. To enhance accessibility and address healthcare disparities we strongly recommend incorporating audio-recordings alongside written translations.
This study received ethical approval by the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee (FREC Ethics Ref: 13801) on the 27th of April 2023.
与骨质疏松症相关的椎体骨折在65岁以上人群中很常见，但大多数病例未被诊断出来。这令人担忧，因为椎体骨折患者未来发生骨折的风险会增加。为了填补医疗保健方面的这一空白，并促进诊断，以便能够开始使用骨保护药物，我们开发并验证了一种名为“Vfrac”的临床决策工具。Vfrac可帮助医疗保健专业人员确定背痛的老年人是否需要进行脊柱X光检查以诊断椎体骨折。然而，由于Vfrac是用英语开发的，非英语使用者仍然无法使用。鉴于南亚人群中椎体骨折的高患病率，我们的研究旨在使用基于标准化框架的跨文化适应方法将Vfrac从英语翻译成乌尔都语。
由五名独立翻译人员将Vfrac翻译成乌尔都语，并向他们提供了有关该工具的目的及其组成部分的信息。然后，另外五名不同的翻译人员将乌尔都语版本回译成英语。一组会说英语和乌尔都语的双语医疗保健专业人员和公众参考原始英语问卷对翻译内容进行了审查和讨论。该小组选择了最能传达每个问题预期含义的翻译，生成了Vfrac的最终乌尔都语版本。一名双语医疗保健专业人员进行了最终审查，并为方便使用对乌尔都语版Vfrac进行了录音。
双语成年人小组由两名医疗保健专业人员和三名普通成员组成，其中四名是女性，年龄均在25至69岁之间。制作了用乌尔都语编写的Vfrac最终翻译版本，确保其准确反映了原始英语版本的含义。为了提高可及性，还创建了一个录音版本。
本研究通过结构化的跨文化适应过程成功地将英语临床检查表Vfrac改编成了乌尔都语。为了提高可及性并解决医疗保健差距，我们强烈建议在书面翻译的同时加入录音。
本研究于2023年4月27日获得健康科学研究伦理委员会（FREC伦理参考号：13801）的伦理批准。
