The aim of the study was to translate and culturally adapt the PGQ in Traditional Chinese, and to evaluate its measurement properties.
Women who were within two-year postpartum period and had been diagnosed with PGP based on symptoms and physical examinations were recruited. The PGQ is a self-administered questionnaire with 25 items assessing activity limitation (20 items) and symptoms (5 items) on a Likert scale ranging from 0 to 3. The maximum score is 75, with a higher score indicating worse status.
Approval was obtained from the original author before the translation process started. The translation process followed a 5-stage approach based on the established guidelines. Construct validity was assessed by comparing the Traditional Chinese version of PGQ with the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the SF-36. Test-retest reliability was assessed by having participants re-take the questionnaire after 7 days. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 17.0 with Spearman’s correlation coefficient used for construct validity, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for test-retest reliability, and Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency. In addition, discriminative validity was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to differentiate whether the women have noticeable functional limitations.
A total of 69 participants were included in the final analysis. The mean age was 33.54±4.14 years, the mean gestational age was 38.16±1.83 weeks, and the average postpartum period was 1.68±2.49 years.
The Traditional Chinese PGQ demonstrated good test-retest reliability (total score ICC=0.865, activity subscale ICC=0.850, and symptoms subscale ICC=0.900), and good internal consistency (total score Cronbach’s alpha=0.876, activity subscale Cronbach’s alpha=0.861 and symptoms subscale Cronbach’s alpha=0.904). For construct validity, the PGQ showed a high positive correlation with the ODI (r=0.652) and a moderate negative correlation with the SF-36 (r=-0.580). The ROC curve analysis showed an area under the curve of 0.992, supporting strong discriminative validity of the questionnaire.
The Traditional Chinese version of the PGQ is a reliable and valid tool for assessing PGP in women.
The development of the Traditional Chinese version of PGQ could facilitate better clinical care, educational efforts, and research initiatives, contributing to the improvement and understanding for women experiencing PGP in Traditional Chinese speaking regions.
Pelvic girdle pain
Disability evaluation
