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Translation and Cross-cultural Adaptation of an Instrument to Measure Patients’ Perception of the Quality of Care in Kinshasa Hospitals and Health Centers

Nyandwe J, Mapatano MA, Lussamba PS, Kandala NB and Kayembe PK

Objective: To edit, translate and adapt culturally the SERVQUAL modified in India from English into French for use in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Methods: The cross-cultural adaptation process of an instrument measuring the patients’ perception of quality of care requires a translated version that is conceptually equivalent to the original, and culturally acceptable to the target population. Our study aimed at translating from English into French the SERVQUAL instrument used in India. Two translators fluent in English translated the SERVQUAL into French and 2 back translators translated the tool from French into English. The back-translated version was examined by a panel of expert panel to verify its concordance with the original version. The pretest carried out on 15 patients leaving a medical visit checked on the understandability, clarity and acceptability of the tool. The final French version of the SERVQUAL after the feedback was produced and approved by the panel of experts.

Results: A few items were questioned by the panel of experts. After the pretest, during the cognitive debriefing phase, the French-language version of the SERVQUAL was well accepted and understood by all of the expert members; thus this operation demonstrated the robustness of the process of translation and cross-cultural adaptation. After this agreement by the experts, the tool was ready to be pretested by a convenience sample again to assess its understandability, clarity and acceptability to translate and cross-culturally adapt in DRC.

Conclusions: The final version of the SERVQUAL cross-cultural adapted for use in DRC proved easy to understand and use.