Brisk Walking- and Running-Induced Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Questionnaire in Runners: French Translation and...

Urinary incontinence (UI) during exercise is common among active females, with one in three runners experiencing symptoms. As UI can limit participation in sport, there is a need to understand exercise-specific symptoms and strategies used to mitigate them. Existing questionnaires do not assess UI that occurs specifically during exercise. The Brisk Walking- and Running-induced Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Questionnaire (BRUTS-Q) was developed in English using focus groups and a Delphi process and is currently under validation. A French version is needed for francophone populations. The objectives were to translate the BRUTS-Q into French and to assess the content validity of the translated version among females reporting running-related UI in terms of relevance, comprehensibility, and comprehensiveness.

Following COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments guidelines, a qualitative design using cognitive "think-aloud" interviews was conducted with French-speaking females who reported experiencing running-related UI. Iterative analyses were performed in sets of five interviews. Two researchers independently coded data to identify issues related to content validity, and the questionnaire was revised accordingly between rounds. The process continued until no new issues emerged.

The final French version of the BRUTS-Q demonstrated strong content validity, with participants reporting good clarity, relevance, and comprehensiveness for describing running-related UI in the francophone female population.

These findings support the strong potential of the French-language BRUTS-Q as a patient-centered outcome measure to assess symptoms of running-related UI and to inform the development of targeted interventions. Further studies are needed to evaluate its psychometric properties before it is used clinically or in research.