HOW TO MEASURE HEALTH-STATUS IN RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS IN NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING PATIENTS - VALIDATION OF A SPANISH VERSION OF THE HEALTH ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE DISABILITY INDEX (SPANISH HAQ-DI)

The HAQ-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) is a useful instrument to measure he alth status in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Translation into an other language requires a validation process, however. We have transla ted the HAQ-Dl to be used on Spanish-speaking populations. We administ ered the questionnaire to 97 RA patients during the course of routine medical care. Reliability, measured by a test-retest with a one-month interval, was high (Spearman's rho = 0.89). Convergent and construct v alidity was obtained for all comparisons (Pearson's r > 0.4). The inst rument was sensitive in detecting clinical improvement. We conclude th at the Spanish HAQ-DI retains the characteristics of the original inde x and can be used to assess outcome in Spanish-speaking patients with RA. The procedure described may be used to translate the instrument in to other languages either directly from English or from the Spanish ve rsion presented here.