Cultural and linguistic adaptation of the Oxford Cognitive Screen to the Spanish population.

Introduction: Stroke is the sixth leading cause of disability in Spain. Patients may present motor, sensory, or cognitive sequelae, which can be minimised with early treatment. To this end, there is a need for quick-to-administer assessment tools to evaluate deficits in these areas. The Oxford Cognitive Screen (OCS) is a brief test specifically designed to assess cognitive function in patients with stroke. Our aim in this study is to report the linguistic and cultural adaptation of a Spanish-language version of the test (OCS-S).

Methods: The linguistic validation was conducted with a process of double translation and 10 consensus meetings of the multidisciplinary research team. We also performed 3 pilot studies, with 5 potential users, 23 healthy individuals, and 23 patients with stroke (ischaemic in 61% of cases and haemorrhagic in 39%), respectively; participants were aged between 31 and 88 years.

Results: The OCS-S includes the 10 subtests, the coding of responses, and the scoring system from the original version. We modified and extended the instructions for administration in order to ensure the reliability of the content and its application. Five tasks were modified (images, numbers, and sentences) and the praxis subtest was modified to evaluate both hands. The pilot studies confirmed comprehension in the target population, independently of any cognitive problems.

Conclusion: The OCS-S is conceptually and linguistically equivalent to the original test, enabling psychometric assessment and application of the test in the Spanish population. The OCS-S may be a useful screening tool for quickly assessing cognitive function after stroke.