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Depression in Aboriginal men in central Australia: adaptation of the Patient Health Questionnaire 9

Brown, Alex, Mentha, Ricky, Rowley, Kevin, Skinner, Timothy C., Davy, Carol and O'Dea, Kerin (2013). Depression in Aboriginal men in central Australia: adaptation of the Patient Health Questionnaire 9. BMC Psychiatry,13:271-1-271-10.

Document type: Journal Article
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IRMA ID 82794376xPUB256
Title Depression in Aboriginal men in central Australia: adaptation of the Patient Health Questionnaire 9
Author Brown, Alex
Mentha, Ricky
Rowley, Kevin
Skinner, Timothy C.
Davy, Carol
O'Dea, Kerin
Journal Name BMC Psychiatry
Publication Date 2013
Volume Number 13
ISSN 1471-244X   (check CDU catalogue  open catalogue search in new window)
Scopus ID 2-s2.0-84885524092
Start Page 271-1
End Page 271-10
Total Pages 1
Place of Publication United Kingdom
Publisher BioMed Central Ltd.
HERDC Category C1 - Journal Article (DIISR)
Abstract Background
While Indigenous Australians are believed to be at a high risk of psychological illness, few screening instruments have been designed to accurately measure this burden. Rather than simply transposing western labels of symptoms, this paper describes the process by which a screening tool for depression was specifically adapted for use across multiple Indigenous Australian communities.

Method
Potential depression screening instruments were identified and interrogated according to a set of pre-defined criteria. A structured process was then developed which relied on the expertise of five focus groups comprising of members from primary Indigenous language groups in central Australia. First, focus group participants were asked to review and select a screening measure for adaptation. Bi-lingual experts then translated and back translated the language within the selected measure. Focus group participants re-visited the difficult items, explored their meaning and identified potential ways to achieve equivalence of meaning.

Results
All five focus groups independently selected the Primary Health Questionnaire 9, several key conceptual differences were exposed, largely related to the construction of hopelessness. Together with translated versions of each instrument for each of the five languages, a single, simplified English version for use across heterogeneous settings was negotiated. Importantly, the ‘code’ and specific conceptually equivalent words that could be used for other Indigenous language groups were also developed.

Conclusions
The extensive process of adaptation used in this study has demonstrated that within the context of Indigenous Australian communities, across multiple language groups, where English is often a third or fourth language, conceptual and linguistic equivalence of psychological constructs can be negotiated. A validation study is now required to assess the adapted instrument’s potential for measuring the burden of disease across all Indigenous Australian populations.
Keywords Indigenous Australians
Depression
Primary heatlh questionnaire 9
Assessment
Mental health
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-13-271   (check subscription with CDU E-Gateway service for CDU Staff and Students  check subscription with CDU E-Gateway in new window)
Additional Notes This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Description for Link Link to CC Attribution 3.0 License
URL https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/legalcode


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