Purpose: To culturally translate and validate the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Methods: After a forward-backward translation, 105 persons with MS completed the Persian versions of the CIQ and MS Quality of Life (MSQOL) questionnaires in the first visit. The CIQ was re-administered to a sample of 45 persons with MS 7-10 days after the first session. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's α coefficient, respectively. Construct validity was assessed by measuring associations between subscales of the Persian CIQ (including Home Integration (HI), Social Integration (SI), and Productivity (P)) and MSQOL (including Physical and Mental Components). Dimensionality was assessed through two methods of corrected item-subscale correlation and factor analysis.
Results: The acceptable level of test-retest reliability (ICC ≥0.70) was obtained for the Persian CIQ. However, Cronbach's α coefficient of ≥0.70 was only seen for the HI. The correlations between the Persian CIQ and the Physical MSQOL were higher than those of Persian CIQ and the Mental MSQOL. The corrected item-subscale Spearman's correlation coefficient of 0.40 was exceeded by most items of the HI and 2 items of P. A total of four factors were detected and similar to the results of item-subscale correlation, the most variability was seen for the items of SI which loaded on different factors.
Conclusions: Persian CIQ seems to be a reliable and valid instrument for monitoring the level of community integration following rehabilitation in persons with MS. Some modifications need to be made in the SI of the Persian CIQ to improve extraction of information regarding community integration of persons with MS.