Reliability of the Kannada Version of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score: A Cross-sectional Study
YC15-YC18
Correspondence
Nityal Kumar Alagingi,
Assistant Professor, Nitte Institute of Physiotherapy, NITTE (Deemed to be University), Mangalore-575018, Karnataka, India.
E-mail: nityal86@gmail.com
Introduction: The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) is a valid and reliable tool for assessing knee injury and osteoarthritis (OA). It has been cross-culturally adapted into several Indian languages. However, the reliability of the Kannada translation of the KOOS scale has not been established.
Aim: The aim of this study was to confirm the reliability of the Kannada translation of the KOOS scale and to assess the inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the culturally adapted KOOS outcome measure.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 74 patients diagnosed with OA. All patients were asked to complete the KOOS questionnaire. To test inter-rater reliability, two raters completed the questionnaire, while for test-retest reliability, one rater was involved. The procedure was repeated after a week. The scores of both questionnaires were then compared to check the inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the cross-culturally adapted KOOS outcome measure. Cronbach’s Alpha and the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) were utilised to determine the scale’s reliability.
Results: The entire scale demonstrated high reliability, with an ICC ranging from 0.96 to 0.98 for all subscales. The domain-wise and overall Cronbach’s Alpha values were >0.70. There was agreement between the raters (p<0.01) and test-retest data (p<0.01) for pain and activities of daily living items. Highly significant correlations were also observed between test-retest data for all items related to sport and recreation function and knee-related quality of life (p<0.001).
Conclusion: The Cronbach’s Alpha values obtained for all domains of the scale were >0.70, indicating the scale’s reliability. Additionally, the scale demonstrated consistency as the ICC was determined to be substantial.