Rotator cuff-quality of life scale: adaptation to Turkish.

Purpose: The adaptation of scales to the native language and cultural setting of the patient is essential for obtaining more reliable results in scientific studies. In this study, the rotator cuff-quality of life scale (RC-QoLS) was translated into Turkish, and validity and reliability testing was performed on the scale.

Methods: The scale was first translated into Turkish and then from Turkish to English by another language specialist. Subsequently, the two translations were evaluated by two orthopaedic surgeons who had comprehensive knowledge of English to create the final Turkish version of RC-QoLS. The scale was used for the assessment of 54 patients (average age 56 years) with rotator cuff tear scheduled for surgery. The scale was completed by each patient two times with 1-week interval.

Results: The Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged between 0.895 and 0.980 and intraclass correlation coefficients ranged between 0.807 and 0.976, this rendered all domains reliable. The scale gave results very near to those obtained by the original questionnaire with respect to the constructed validity and internal consistency as well as domain relationships.

Conclusions: In general, the Turkish version of the RC-QoLS is a valid and reliable test with high differentiating power that may be used in the evaluation the quality of life of patients with RC tear in patients who are native Turkish speaker. The use of the Turkish version of RC-QoLS may contribute to the making of a more reliable evaluation in the studies on RC problems in the Turkish society.