Medication Use Questionnaire for Older Adults in Malaysia: Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Reliability

Objectives: This study aimed to translate the Medication Use Questionnaire into a Malay version, adapt it to Malaysia's culture, and verify its reliability among Malaysia's older adults.

Methods: Methodological approaches were used to translate, validate, and modify the questionnaire. The subjects were older adults aged ≥ 60 years in primary care settings in Penang, Malaysia. Two forward translations (English to Malay) were developed, reviewed, and back translated to English. The reconciliation phase was conducted to compare the translated and original questionnaires. Five older adults were then interviewed for the cognitive debriefing of the reconciled questionnaire to assess the linguistic and cultural equivalence. Two experts assessed content validity, and the translated questionnaire was proofread and finalized. After that, pilot test was done to examine the internal consistency among 20 older adults.

Results: Translation of the questionnaire was done with no major disagreements. The main issues identified in cognitive debriefing and content validity were terms, number of questions, and phrases used in the questionnaire. Most participants reported that the questionnaires were not difficult to complete during the cognitive debriefing phase. The issues were then judged and revised accordingly. Further pilot testing on 20 older adults demonstrated good internal consistency reliability, Cronbach α (0.902).

Conclusions: This study findings suggest promising data supporting the use of translated version of the Medication Use Questionnaire that can be used to identify medication use problems among older adults in Malaysia.