Translating and Validating PRISMA-7 Questionnaire in Urdu: A Screening Tool to Identify Frail Individuals

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Frailty is a significant geriatric condition increasing vulnerability to stressors and chronic diseases.
• Early identification of frailty is crucial for timely interventions in the elderly population.
• The PRISMA-7 questionnaire is a commonly used tool for frailty screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To translate the PRISMA-7 questionnaire into the Urdu language.
• To validate the Urdu version of the PRISMA-7 questionnaire for use in Pakistan.
• To assess the reliability and validity of the Urdu PRISMA-7 for screening frail elderly individuals.

Main Methods:

• The PRISMA-7 questionnaire underwent forward and backward translation into Urdu.
• A pilot study was conducted on 151 subjects aged 60 and above in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
• Reliability and validity statistics, including Cronbach's alpha, were applied for validation.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of frailty in the study population was found to be 63.26%.
• While questionnaire items were significantly different, their inter-item correlations were low.
• The Cronbach's alpha for the Urdu PRISMA-7 was calculated at 0.322.

Conclusions:

• The Urdu translated version of the PRISMA-7 questionnaire lacks sufficient validity and reliability.
• This tool is currently not recommended for screening frailty among the elderly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
• Further research and refinement are necessary to develop a dependable Urdu frailty screening instrument.