Development of a Bahasa Melayu Version of Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI)

Abstract

Introduction: Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial disease that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance, and tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. Symptoms cannot be ignored in diagnosing DED, which play an important role in confirming the diagnosis. Questionnaire application is an efficient way in assessing symptoms of DED. Since there is no absolute “gold standard†diagnostic test for DED, a combination of signs and symptoms are commonly used as diagnostic criteria. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire is one of questionnaire set for DED, and it is a standard measure used worldwide. The Malaysian population understand Bahasa Melayu very well. Since OSDI is originally in English, some of them might face difficulty in answering the questions.
Objective: This study is planned to validate the same structure of OSDI in Bahasa Melayu, to remove language barrier in assessing the DED.
Materials and Method: Translation process was conducted via five phases; forward translation, synthesis of translation, backward translation, refine of translation and lastly translation quality evaluation. The result from translation process was transformed into an online questionnaire using JotForm program. It was distributed to 230 bilingual participants to answer both English and Bahasa Melayu version. The responses was automatically calculated and replied via online. SPSS software was used to analyse the results, using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients test to determine the reliability of the translated version.
Results and Discussion: The result for Cronbach’s alpha was 0.77. A coefficient of 0.7 and above is considered acceptable.
Conclusion: Thus, OSDI in Bahasa Melayu is valid as an instrument to assess symptoms of DED.