Translation of the Children’s Visual Function Quality of Life instrument from English to Sepedi

Abstract

Background: The Children’s Visual Function Quality of Life (CVF-QoL) instrument assesses how visual impairment affects the quality of life related to visual function among rural school-going children in South Africa. Currently, there are no validated vision tools for Sepedi-speaking children.
Aim: This study aims to translate the CVF-QoL instrument into Sepedi.
Setting: Three rural schools in Sekhukhune district, Limpopo, South Africa.
Methods: This study utilised a forward-backward-forward translation method. Three independent translators were involved in translating the English versions of the CVF-QoL instrument into Sepedi. The translated Sepedi version was face-validated by learners aged 6–17 years. The final Sepedi versions were administered to children in two groups: version 1.1 for ages 6–9 years and version 2.1 for ages 10–17 years. The same learners completed the questionnaire again 10 days after the initial administration.
Results: Face validation indicated that both versions are clear and relevant. Version 1.1, administered to 41 learners aged 10–17, achieved a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.930. Version 2.1 was given to 39 learners aged 6–9, scoring 0.762. Test–retest reliability showed scores of 0.927 for version 1.1 and 0.712 for version 2.1 after 10 days. Overall, the Cronbach scores for the Sepedi and English versions of 1.1 were 0.930 and 0.946; for version 2.1, the scores were 0.762 and 0.777.
Conclusion: Sepedi version of the CVF-QoL instrument, focused on rural South African children, is novel, valid and reliable.
Contribution: The translated tools can be used to evaluate the visual function of Sepedi-speaking children.