Linguistic translation and validation of the Arabic version of International Female Coital Incontinence Questionnaire (IFCI-Q)

Wally Mahfouz; Ahmed Moussa; Maurizio Serati; Matteo Balzarro; Emanuele Rubilotta; Marilena Gubbiotti

doi:10.1080/2090598X.2023.2242162

Linguistic translation and validation of the Arabic version of International Female Coital Incontinence Questionnaire (IFCI-Q)

Arab J Urol. 2023 Aug 1;22(1):48-53. doi: 10.1080/2090598X.2023.2242162. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Wally Mahfouz¹, Ahmed Moussa¹, Maurizio Serati², Matteo Balzarro³, Emanuele Rubilotta³, Marilena Gubbiotti⁴

Affiliations

¹ Urology Department, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
³ Urology Department, A.O.U.I. Verona University, Italy.
⁴ Urology Department, San Donato Hospital, Arezzo, Italy.

Abstract

Objectives: Aim of the study was to translate the International Female Coital Incontinence Questionnaire (IFCI-Q) into Arabic (Egyptian) and validate it into among Egyptian population complaining of coital urinary incontinence (CI).

Methods: Original questionnaire has been translated and back-translated by an expert panel, to produce the Arabic version. A pilot study was performed to make sure the questionnaire was understandable. Sixty patients included in the study were divided into two groups: Group A comprised patients with CI, and Group B comprised females who attended the urology clinic for other complaints, without CI. Reliability of the Arabic IFCI-Q was evaluated for internal consistency using Cronbach alpha coefficient. Test-retest reliability was determined using the Weighted Cohen's k-test. Discrimination validity was evaluated by comparing scores of patients with those of healthy females not complaining of CI using Mann-Whitney test.

Results: 83.3% of women of both groups (mean age: 43.1 ± 10.6 yrs [Group A], 38.9 ± 8 [Group B] yrs) reported OAB symptoms, 73.3% had stress urinary incontinence and 46.7% reported mixed urinary incontinence. Regarding Group A, 10 patients had CI during penetration, 12 during orgasm and 8 had both forms of CI. The comparison of the responses between Group A and Group B demonstrated a statistically difference (p < 0.00). The content validity was assessed by a panel of expert functional urologists. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the total score were high (0.9-1), indicating high internal consistency. The difference between the two groups revealed an internal consistency of IFCI-Q of 0.563-0.851. The test-retest procedure revealed that the k-values of each item are very good.

Conclusions: The Arabic version will allow utilizing this tool in a large population of Arabic-speaking countries, with different ethnic and demographic backgrounds.

Keywords: Coital urinary incontinence; IFCI-Q; linguistic translation validated questionnaire.