[Characteristics of access to Pap smear: three methodological stages in the adaptation of a data collection...

The article describes the initial steps in the Portuguese-language adaptation of an instrument to measure characteristics of access to cervical cancer prevention. A universalist approach was adopted to assess conceptual, item, and semantic equivalence. The methodology included a literature review and participation by both experts and women representing the general population. Conceptual and item equivalence was established with participation by experts. Semantic equivalence was analyzed in five stages. Two translations into Portuguese and two back-translations into English were performed independently and evaluated by a third researcher from the public health field. The back-translations showed good referential and connotative similarity to the original, and a consensus version was formulated. Twenty-eight women participated in the pretest, eight of whom in the focus group format. The version proved comprehensible, underwent some modifications, and is ready for the complementary stages in the cross-cultural adaptation process.