Linguistic validation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Post COVID-19 Functional Status Scale (PCFS) for the Chilean population.

Lorca, Alejandra; Torres, Rodrigo; Ribeiro, Ivana L; Benavente, Paulina; Pizarro, Marta; San Cristobal, Belgica; Ugarte, Javiera; Laura, Cristobal; Huanchicay, Camila; Mamani, Alexandra

BACKGROUND The patients with COVID-19 can present functional status and disability alterations in the medium and long term. On the international level, a multi-centered study is being worked on to validate the Post-COVID-19 functional Status scale (PCFS) for different nations, thus allowing to visualize the needs for a multi-disciplinary approach and planning intervention plans. The objective of this study was to perform a linguistic validation and cross-cultural adaptation of the PCFS for people infected with COVID-19 for the Chilean population. METHODS It corresponds to a cross-sectional study of the scale validation. The study was performed in two phases: 1. Forward-translation, reverse-translation. 2. Apparent cross-validity adaptation. For the apparent validity analysis, 29 people who had been hospitalized in HDS with a COVID-19 infection diagnosis and at the time of the interview were in their homes. 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 allows us to obtain a Spanish PCFS scale version for Chile, which is conceptually and linguistically equivalent to the original instrument and adequate to assess the functional status of the people infected with COVID-19.