A cross-cultural study translating and validating the COMPAT-SF pain questionnaire in Telugu, Bengali and Hindi

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a fibroinflammatory disease causing functional injury. Abdominal pain is the predominant symptom negatively impacting the quality of life. The Comprehensive Pain Assessment Tool (COMPAT-SF) questionnaire, designed and validated to assess pain in CP, was previously only available in English and Danish. Given the high prevalence of CP in India, translating and validating COMPAT-SF into different languages becomes crucial.

The COMPAT-SF underwent translation into three Indian languages (Hindi, Telugu and Bengali) and was back-translated to English to ensure cross-cultural equivalence. Validation was conducted at two tertiary care centers in India. As Hindi is the most widespread language, bilingual CP patients answered the COMPAT-SF in Hindi and English at a three-week interval. All sub-group answers were compared with patient data from the US. Structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis were employed for validation.

Total 64 patients (19 Hindi-speaking,15 Telugu and 30 Bengali) were included and compared with 91 English-speaking patients. Translation adequacy was confirmed with > 85% concordance. Despite modest Cronbach alpha values in reliability analysis, structural equation modeling demonstrated high consistency with the original COMPAT-SF study. Some cultural differences in responses were observed, but the responses were comparable overall. Confirmatory factor analysis on the pooled data indicated an acceptable model fit and the Hindi version showed good accordance with the English version.

The translated COMPAT-SF versions proved to be valid and reliable pain assessment tools for CP patients. The study underscores the importance of addressing pain comprehensively.