Cross-cultural adaptation, validity, and reliability of the Wexner questionnaire in patients with functional constipation in an Iranian population

The present study aimed to cross-culturally adapt and assess the validity and reliability of the English version of the Wexner questionnaire translated into the Persian language in Iranian patients.

Constipation is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders; therefore, it is necessary to utilize an index for both the clinic and research studies.

In the first phase, the English version of the Wexner questionnaire was translated into the Persian language. In the second phase, the Persian version was assessed to evaluate the psychometric properties in 136 patients with functional constipation who referred to gastrointestinal and physical medicine clinics. Content validity was assessed by face validity. Construct validity was tested based on hypothesis testing and structural validity. The correlation of the total scores of the Wexner questionnaire and the Patient Assessment Constipation Quality Of Life (PAC-QOL) questionnaire was used for concurrent criterion validity. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were calculated using Cronbach's α and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).The floor/ceiling effect of the questionnaire was also evaluated.

The content validity of the Persian version of Wexner’s questionnaire was acceptable. The construct and concurrent criteria validity showed moderate correlation. The internal consistency and intrarater reliability were moderate (0.51) and excellent (rp = 0.97, p-value <0.001), respectively. No floor/ceiling effect was seen.

The Persian version of the Wexner questionnaire showed good validity and reliability in Iranian patients and can therefore be applied in clinics as well as in research for Persian-speaking countries.