Acceptability, reliability, and validity of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39) across languages: a systematic review

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to explore the acceptability, reliability, and validity of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life-39 (SAQOL-39) scale across languages. Data sources: We employed a systematic search of the online databases including MEDLINE (Pubmed), Science direct, Web of science, Psychinfo, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and Cochrane library published between 2003 and 2016. Review methods: We used PRISMA guidelines for conducting and reporting this review. Subsequently, screening of the titles and abstracts, extraction of data as well as the appraisal of the quality of relevant studies were carried out. Results: The initial search returned 8185 studies. Subsequent screening and study selection processes narrowed them to 20, needing detailed review. Forward-backward translation scheme was the preferred method for translation of the SAQOL-39 from English to other languages. Mainly, the socio-cultural and linguistic adaptations were performed in the translated versions. Most versions of the SAQOL-39 showed high test-retest reliability and internal consistency. However, several psychometric properties including the validity and responsiveness were seldom reported in these versions. Conclusion: The SAQOL-39 scale showed high acceptability, and reliability across the languages reviewed in this study. Future translations may additionally focus on reporting the validity and responsiveness of the instrument.