Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb 21;7(1):16.
doi: 10.1186/s41687-023-00548-0.

German translation of the PROMIS® pediatric anxiety, anger, depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain interference and peer relationships item banks

J Devine  1 , A Kaman  1 , T L Seum  1 , F Zoellner  1 , M Dabs  1 , V Ottova-Jordan  1 , L K Schlepper  1 , A-C Haller  1 , S Topf  1 , M Boecker  1   2 , J Schuchard  3 , C B Forrest  3 , Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer  4
Affiliations

German translation of the PROMIS® pediatric anxiety, anger, depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain interference and peer relationships item banks

J Devine et al. J Patient Rep Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: The present study aimed at the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of six PROMIS® pediatric self- and proxy- item banks and short forms to universal German: anxiety (ANX), anger (ANG), depressive symptoms (DEP), Fatigue (FAT), pain interference (P) and peer relationships (PR).

Methods: Using standardized methodology approved by the PROMIS Statistical Center and in line with recommendations of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) PRO Translation Task Force, two translators for each German-speaking country (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) commented on and rated the translation difficulty and provided forward translations, followed by a review and reconciliation phase. An independent translator performed back translations, which were reviewed and harmonized. The items were tested in cognitive interviews with 58 children and adolescents from Germany (16), Austria (22), and Switzerland (20) for the self-report and 42 parents and other caregivers (Germany (12), Austria (17), and Switzerland (13)) for the proxy-report.

Results: Translators rated the translation difficulty of most items (95%) as easy or feasible. Pretesting showed that items of the universal German version were understood as they were intended, as only 14 out of 82 items of the self-report and 15 out of 82 items of the proxy-report versions required minor rewording. However, on average German translators rated the items more difficult to translate (M = 1.5, SD = 0.20) than the Austrian (M = 1.3, SD = 0.16) and the Swiss translators (M = 1.2, SD = 0.14) on a three-point Likert scale.

Conclusions: The translated German short forms are ready for use by researchers and clinicians ( https://www.healthmeasures.net/search-view-measures ).

Keywords: Anger; Anxiety; Depression; Fatigue; German; PROMIS; Pain; Pediatric health; Peer; Translation.

Plain language summary

A multitude of questionnaires exist, which are not comparable due to different questions or no available translations. PROMIS is an initiative, which was funded by the National Institute of Health in the US, to build better, i.e., more precise and efficient questionnaires, which can be used and compared worldwide. The PROMIS questionnaires include paper-and-pencil short forms and computerized adaptive tests. So far numerous PROMIS surveys have been created using advanced methodologies. They can be used by health care professionals to assess different aspects of health and compare the results internationally. To allow for international comparability of studies using those questionnaires, they need to be translated. This study reports the thorough translation process of the US-American PROMIS® questionnaires measuring anxiety, anger, depressive symptoms, fatigue, pain interference, and peer relationships in children and adolescents into German. The translation included researchers, children, and parents from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to ensure that the final German version is fully and equally well understood in all of those German-speaking countries. The article describes the translation process, so that the user can understand the translations and use them in an informed way. The translated German questionnaires are ready for use by researchers and clinicians. ( https://www.healthmeasures.net/search-view-measures ).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PROMIS Conceptualization of pediatric health
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
FACIT translation methodology
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Translation difficulty ratings
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cella D, Yount S, Rothrock N, Gershon R, Cook K, Reeve B, Ader D, Fries JF, Bruce B, Rose M, PROMIS Cooperative Group (2007) The patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS): progress of an NIH Roadmap cooperative group during its first two years. Med Care 45:S3–S1110.1097/01.mlr.0000258615.42478.55 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Forrest CB, Bevans KB, Tucker C, Riley AW, Ravens-Sieberer U, Gardner W, Pajer K. Commentary: the patient-reported outcome measurement information system (PROMIS®) for children and youth: application to pediatric psychology. J Pediatr Psychol. 2012;37:614–621. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jss038. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rose M, Bjorner JB, Gandek B, Bruce B, Fries JF, Ware JE. The PROMIS physical function item bank was calibrated to a standardized metric and shown to improve measurement efficiency. J Clin Epidemiol. 2014;67:516–526. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.10.024. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bjorner JB, Chang C-H, Thissen D, Reeve BB. Developing tailored instruments: item banking and computerized adaptive assessment. Qual Life Res. 2007;16(Suppl 1):95–108. doi: 10.1007/s11136-007-9168-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cella D, Riley W, Stone A, Rothrock N, Reeve B, Yount S, Amtmann D, Bode R, Buysse D, Choi S. The patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS) developed and tested its first wave of adult self-reported health outcome item banks: 2005–2008. J Clin Epidemiol. 2010;63:1179–1194. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2010.04.011. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types