The cross-cultural validation of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale among persons affected by leprosy and podoconiosis in Northwest, Ethiopia
Authors: Aycheh Moges Wubie , van ’t Noordende Anna Tiny , Moges Nurilign Abebe , Schippers Alice 
Published: March 2023

Background

The Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale was developed and validated in different languages in different countries. However, this scale is not yet validated in the Ethiopian Amharic language context. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the cross-cultural validity of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale, among Ethiopian families of persons affected by leprosy and podoconiosis.

Methodology

We explored the semantic equivalence, internal consistency, reproducibility, floor and ceiling effects, and interpretability of the Beach Centre Family Quality of Life Scale in Amharic. After translating, and back-translating the instrument, a cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 302 adult persons affected by leprosy and podoconiosis, who have a view of their family life were asked about their level of satisfaction using the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale. In addition, 50 participants were interviewed again two weeks after the first assessment to check the reproducibility of the scale. Participants were recruited in the East Gojjam zone in Northwest Ethiopia.

Results

The findings of this study showed that the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.913) and reproducibility (intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.857). The standard error of measurement was 3.01, which is 2.4% of the total score range. The smallest detectable change was 8.34. Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate factor loadings and model fit indices like the original scale. The composite reliability and average variance extracted from the scale were acceptable. No floor and ceiling effects were found.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that the Amharic version of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life scale has adequate cultural validity to assess the family quality of life in Ethiopian families of persons affected by leprosy and podoconiosis.

Author Summary

The presence of persons with disabilities in the family can affect a family’s quality of life. Neglected tropical diseases such as leprosy and podoconiosis can lead to disabilities and have been found to influence Family Quality of Life. To adequately assess the family quality of life of persons affected by leprosy and podoconiosis, we have selected the Beach Center Family Quality of Life scale. However, this scale has not been validated in the Ethiopian context previously. In this study, the authors aimed to investigate the cross-cultural validity of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life scale in families with one or more persons affected by leprosy and podoconiosis in Ethiopia.

A total of 302 participants were included in this study. The results show the scale to be adequately reliable and valid in the target country’s culture and language. Based on the findings, the authors recommend using this scale among families of persons affected by leprosy and podoconiosis.