Translation of a tobacco survey into Spanish and Asian languages: the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey

Abstract

Because of the vital need to attain cross-cultural comparability of estimates of tobacco use across subgroups of the U.S. population that differ in primary language use, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Tobacco Use Special Cessation Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUSCS-CPS) was translated into Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, Vietnamese, and Khmer (Cambodian). The questionnaire translations were extensively tested using an eight-step process that focused on both translation procedures and empirical pretesting. The resulting translations are available on the Internet at http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/studies/tus-cps/translation/questionnaires.html for tobacco researchers to use in their own surveys, either in full, or as material to be selected as appropriate. This manuscript provides information to guide researchers in accessing and using the translations, and describes the empirical procedures used to develop and pretest them (cognitive interviewing and behavior coding). We also provide recommendations concerning the further development of questionnaire translations.