The Wheelchair Use Confidence Scale (WheelCon): Arabic translation, adaptation, and validation

This study translated and culturally adapted the Wheelchair Use Confidence Scale for Manual Wheelchair Users (WheelCon-M) and the Wheelchair Use Confidence Scale for Power Wheelchair Users (WheelCon-P) into Arabic and examined their reliability and validity. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were examined, and concurrent validity was evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients with the Arabic versions of the Functioning Everyday with a Wheelchair (FEW) and the Functional Mobility Assessment (FMA). The Arabic translated versions of the WheelCon-M (WheelCon-M-A) and the WheelCon-P (WheelCon-P-A) were administered to 33 adult wheelchair users. Cronbach's α was 0.94 (p < 0.01) for the WheelCon-M-A and 0.95 (p < 0.01) for the WheelCon-P-A. The WheelCon-M-A and WheelCon-P-A were reliable with respect to test-retest with an ICC of 0.974 (p < 0.01) and 0.965 (p < 0.01), respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient of the WheelCon-M-A scores was 0.776 with the FEW scores and 0.685 with the FMA scores (p < 0.01). The Pearson correlation coefficient of the WheelCon-P-A scores was 0.782 with the FEW scores and 0.654 with the FMA scores (p < 0.01). This study has provided preliminary evidence of new valid, reliable, and useful tools for healthcare professionals to help measure confidence with wheelchair use among Arab wheelchair users.