Linguistic Validation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status Scale for the Chilean Population.

Background: Patients with COVID-19 can present functional status and disability alterations in the medium- and long-term. On the international level, a multicentered study is being carried out to validate the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status scale for different nations, thus allowing visualizing the needs for a multidisciplinary approach and planning intervention plans. The objective of this study was to perform a linguistic validation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status scale for people infected with COVID-19 for the Chilean population.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of scale validation was carried out. The study was performed in two phases: (1) forward-translation, reverse-translation and (2) apparent cross-validity adaptation. For the apparent validity analysis, 29 individuals who had been hospitalized in Hospital del Salvador with a COVID-19 infection diagnosis and at the time of the interview were in their homes participated.

Results: In phase 1 forward-translation, an item required semantical changes. The reverse-translation versions were similar, and the most relevant doubts were resolved in a consensus meeting. In phase 2, the pilot study confirmed adequate understanding and scale applicability.

Conclusions: Using a systematic and rigorous methodology allowed obtaining a Spanish version of the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status scale for Chile, which is conceptually and linguistically equivalent to the original instrument and adequate to assess the functional status of people infected with COVID-19.