Abstract

VALIDATION OF THE WHO SELF-REPORTING QUESTIONNAIRE-20 (SRQ-20) ITEM IN PRIMARY & SECONDARY HEALTH CARE SETTINGS: FIRST STEP TOWARDS COMMON MENTAL DISORDERS (CMD) IMPROVEMENT IN PAKISTAN

Madeeha Malik*, Junaid Khalid Cheema and Azhar Hussain

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Self-reporting questionnaire 20 (SRQ-20) is the most recommended tool for common mental disorders (CMDs) detection by World Health Organization and is widely used instrument for this purpose globally. The translation and validation of SRQ-20 must be conducted in local languages to facilitate health settings of the country in assessing and treating Common Mental disorders cost effectively. Objective: The present study was designed to translate and provide a reliable and validated tool in Urdu language for screening of common mental health disorders at primary healthcare facilities in Pakistan. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was used to translate and validate SRQ-20 into National language of Pakistan. SRQ-20 was translated in the standard back and forth translation format. All Primary and Secondary health care facilities located in Rawalpindi division were included. All data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 20. Results: The Urdu version SRQ-20 demonstrated good face validity when examined in the pilot study. The participants responded well throughout the study as there were no non-respondent from the approached individuals. This 100% item-completion rate also indicated strong face validity of the Urdu-version SRQ-20. Pilot testing was performed on 10% of sample size for reliability. The value of Cronbach's alpha was 0.704. Conclusion: The present study concluded that the translated Urdu version of SRQ-20 is a reliable and valid tool for screening of CMDs with different demographic variables. The common mental disorders were quite prevalent among patients attending primary and secondary healthcare facilities with moderate severity level.

Keywords: Common mental disorders (CMD), SRQ-20, translation, validation, reliability, primary & secondary healthcare facilities, Pakistan.