Translation, adaptation and validation of the Shoulder Rating Questionnaire (SRQ) into the Dutch language

To translate and adapt the original English version of the Shoulder Rating Questionnaire (SRQ) into the Dutch language (SRQ-DLV) and evaluate its internal consistency, reliability, validity and responsiveness to clinical changes.

Prospective study.

Outpatient departments of orthopaedics, radiology and physical therapy of an academic and a non-academic hospital.

One hundred and seven patients treated for unilateral shoulder disorder (adhesive capsulitis 68, calcifying tendinitis 22, impingement syndrome or rotator cuff tear 17).

The original SRQ was translated and adapted following international guidelines. The SRQ-DLV was used among other measures of body function and structure, activities and societal participation in order to determine reliability, internal consistency, validity and responsiveness. Assessments were done at baseline and three months after treatment, with the SRQ-DLV being re-administered within one week before the baseline measurement and the start of the treatment for testing reliability.

Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency was 0.89 for the total questionnaire and 0.81, 0.80, 0.72 and 0.84 for the domains pain, daily activities, sports/recreational activities and work, respectively. Test-retest reliability of the SRQ-DLV and its subscales ranged from 0.63 to 0.86. The summary score of the SRQ-DLV correlated with measures of shoulder function, daily activities and quality of life. Except for the work subscale of the SRQ-DLV, large effect sizes, reflecting its responsiveness to clinical changes after treatment, were found for both the summary and the subscales scores.

Empirical data support that the SRQ-DLV is a reliable, valid and responsive measure to be used in clinical trials including Dutch patients with various shoulder disorders.