Cultural adaptation and psychometric analysis of Communication Activities of Daily Living third edition in Spanish and Catalan for people with aphasia

Abstract

Background: In the Spanish and Catalan context, there is currently a lack of standardized, linguistically adapted tools to assess people with communication disorders. This lack is especially evident when it comes to instruments designed to assess functional communication. Aims: The main objective of this study is to adapt the instrument entitled Communication Activities of Daily Living 3rd edition (CADL-3) into European Spanish (CADL-3VE) and Catalan (CADL-3VC), thus providing a new tool to assess the functional communication of patients with aphasia in the Spanish and Catalan populations. Methods & Procedures: A total of 152 people, all residents of Catalonia, took part in the study. The CADL-3VE test was administered to 125 Spanish-speaking participants, who were divided into two groups, one consisting of patients with aphasia and the other a control group. The CADL-3VC test was administered to 27 Catalan-speaking patients with aphasia. Other tests and assessment scales were used for the external validation of the test. Outcomes & Results: Reliability scores were recorded for both new versions of the test. There was a very strong correlation between the CADL-3VE test and external criteria. The scores for both of the new versions showed significant differences in terms of performance between the aphasia and control groups. Both versions displayed similarities with the original test with respect to most of the psychometric analyses carried out. Conclusion & Implications: The test makes it possible to assess everyday communicative functioning and participation in real-world contexts. As such, it helps inform the creation of personalized, interdisciplinary treatment plans aimed at functional objectives that consider the patient’s context.