Reliability of an Arabic Version of the RAND-36 Health Survey and Its Equivalence to the US-English Version

Stephen Coons, Saud Abdulaziz Al Abdulmohsin, JoLaine R. Draugalis, Ron D. Hays

ResearchPosted on rand.org 1998Published in: Medical Care, v. 36, no. 3, Mar. 1998, p. 428-432

The objectives of this research were to: (1) evaluate the reliability and equivalence of the Arabic and English versions of the RAND-36 Health Survey (RAND-36) in a sample of Saudi Arabian citizens; and (2) assess the health status of a sample of Saudi Arabian citizens using both the Arabic and English versions. Both the Arabic and English versions of the survey were administered to a convenience sample of bilingual (English and Arabic) Saudi citizens (n=415) at Saudi ARAMCO Company, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Internal consistency, equivalent-forms, and test-retest reliability were estimated for the eight multi-item scales in the Arabic and English versions. Mean scale scores were calculated for each version and compared with the general U.S. population. The results provide support for the reliability and equivalence of the Arabic and English versions of the RAND-36. Additional studies need to be conducted in a representative sample of the general Saudi population to further assess the psychometric properties of the Arabic version.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
  • Publisher: Lippincott-Raven Publishers
  • Availability: Non-RAND
  • Year: 1998
  • Pages: 5
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/pubs
  • Document Number: EP-199803-09

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