Validation study of a Hebrew version of WOMAC in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee

The aim of the study was to validate a translated version of the Western On tario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) in Hebrew spea king populations. The WOMAC was translated into Hebrew from its English ver sion and its reliability and validity were studied. Before its use in patie nts, the Hebrew version was translated back into English by an independent translator and minor amendments were made to satisfy the original English v ersions designed by Bellamy et al. The Hebrew version of the WOMAC question naire was administered to 114 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. All the subjects were asked about the presence and severity of pain during mov ement and handicap, using a visual analogue scale (VAS) of pain and handica p. Test-retest reliability was assessed using Pearson's and intraclass corr elation coefficients. Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach's alph a coefficient of reliability. Construct validity was tested by correlating the WOMAC items with VAS of pain and handicap. The test-retest reliability Pearson's correlation coefficients for the WOMAC items ranged from 0.55 to 0.78 (p<0.01), and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.97 at time 1 and 0.98 at time 2. Significant correlations (p<0.01) were obtained between the WOMAC items and VAS of pain and handicap. The Hebrew version of WOMAC is a reliable an d valid instrument for evaluating the severity of osteoarthritis of the kne e in Israeli patients.