Italian translation and cultural adaptation of the communication assessment tool in an outpatient surgical clinic.

Background: The aim of the study is to translate and cross-culturally adapt, for use in the Italian context, the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) developed by Makoul and colleagues.

Methods: The study was performed in the out-patient clinic of the Surgical Department of Cardarelli Hospital in Naples, Italy. It involved a systematic, standardized, multi-step process adhering to internationally accepted and recommended guidelines. Corrections and adjustments to the translation addressed both linguistic factors and cultural components.

Results: The CAT was translated into Italian by two independent Italian mother-tongue translators. The consensus version was then back-translated by an English mother-tongue translator. This translation process was followed by a consensus meeting between the authors of translation and investigators, and then by two comprehension tests on a total of 65 patients.

Conclusions: Results of the translation and cross-cultural adaptation were satisfactory and indicate that the Italian translation of the CAT can be used with confidence in the Italian context.