An adapted Chinese version of neck pain and disability scale: validity and reliability

This is a validation study to evaluate validity and reliability of a translated and culturally adapted Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPAD).

To conduct a cross-cultural adaptation and check the validity and reliability of a Chinese version of NPAD.

Neck pain and its associated disability are very common musculoskeletal problems. NPAD is a reliable evaluation instrument for neck pain and disability, but there is no availability of a published Chinese version.

NPAD was translated into Chinese. To examine the psychometric properties and clinical application of the adapted Chinese NPAD, a survey was conducted in a group of 106 patients. The factor structure of NPAD was analyzed and subscales were defined. Reliability assessment was determined by calculating internal consistency and test-retest repeatability. Validity was decided by comparing the Chinese version of SF-36 to NPAD and conducting subscales comparisons to single SF-36 domains.

Factor analyses demonstrated four subscales for NPAD: "pain," "disability," "neck-specific function," and "emotional and cognitive influences." The internal consistency for "pain," "disability," "neck-specific function," and "emotional and cognitive influences" subscales was 0.935, 0.952, 0.955, and 0.910, respectively. Test-retest reliability was also acceptable for the whole scale (r = 0.813, P < 0.001), as well as for each of the four subscales. Construct validity was established through comparison with SF-36. All the subscales were significantly correlated with the SF-36 domains, except the items associated with Mental Health and Emotional Role.

The authors report the validation of a Chinese version of NPAD for use in China, which is culturally relevant, reliable, repeatable, and psychometrically sound.