Beyond translation ... cultural fit

West J Nurs Res. 2003 Aug;25(5):593-608. doi: 10.1177/0193945903253001.

Abstract

Reaching non-English-speaking families, the economically disadvantaged, and those who are disproportionately represented in disease and injury statistics is challenging. This article describes the process of making a questionnaire developed in English, culturally appropriate for low-income, monolingual, Mexican and Mexican American mothers. The questionnaire, guided by the Health Belief Model, assesses maternal childhood injury health beliefs and was originally used with a 96% African American, English-speaking sample in the Eastern United States. Two research assistants from the target population worked with the non-Hispanic, bilingual investigator to redesign the questionnaire's language and presentation and to collect data. Sixty monolingual Latina mothers participated in the study to determine the internal consistency of the 42-item Spanish language Maternal Childhood Injury Health Belief Questionnaire (MCIHB). Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from .76 (Benefits subscale) to .90 (Consequences subscale).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Acculturation
  • Adult
  • Attitude to Health / ethnology
  • Child
  • Child Care
  • Cultural Characteristics
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Female
  • Health Behavior / ethnology*
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Mexican Americans / psychology*
  • Mothers / psychology*
  • Poverty / ethnology
  • Psychometrics
  • Self Efficacy
  • Surveys and Questionnaires / standards*
  • Translating*
  • United States
  • Wounds and Injuries / ethnology
  • Wounds and Injuries / prevention & control