Development and analysis of validity and reliability of the Kannada version of Oswestry Disability Index

Study design Cross-culture validation study. Objective To translate, culturally adapt and validate the Kannada version of Oswestry Disability Index (ODI-K), version 2.1(a). Summary of background data The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) has become one of the principle outcome measurement tools and frequently used evaluating disability in patients with low back pain (LBP). Until now no psychometric properties of ODI-K was available. Methods Translation and cross-culture adaptation were performed according to the linguistic guideline, which included forward translation, back-translation, revision by committee, and pretesting. 120 LBP patients were included to evaluate psychometric properties. Test–retest reliability was performed by administering ODI-K twice in 24h interval. The validity was tested by comparing ODI-K with Kannada version of Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). Results The results showed internal consistency in terms of Cronbach's α (0.99), which was excellent. Test–retest reliability was tested by using the ICC(2,1) (0.98), and it was found excellent. Constructs convergent validity was tested by comparing ODI-K with Kannada version of RMDQ which showed moderate (ρ=0.54, P<0.001) relationship. Conclusion ODI-K is reliable and valid tool that can be used in patient oriented outcome studies for evaluating disability related to back pain among Kannada speaking population.