OBJECTIVES: The BODY-Q is a patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument developed for weight loss and/or body contouring that measures appearance, health-related quality of life and experience of care. The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt a new module of the BODY-Q for chest surgery into Finnish and to establish a local branch for data collection for the international field-test.

METHODS: The field-test version of the BODY-Q Chest Module includes a 14-item chest and 8-item nipple scale. Translation and cross-cultural adaption process adhered to the ISPOR guidelines. Two native Finnish translators produced separate forward-translations into Finnish and then met to create a consensus version. An English language-expert who was fluent in Finnish produced a back-translation into English. A back-translation panel and a multidisciplinary committee reviewed the translation processes. The revised version was pilot-tested among five individuals who were thereafter cognitive debriefed. The multidisciplinary committee reviewed the findings to finalize a version of the Finnish BODY-Q Chest Module for field-testing.

RESULTS: Minor differences were encountered between the two forward translations. The translators discussed these differences to form Finnish version 1. This version was translated back to English. The panel noted that the words “breast” and “chest” needed changing as in Finnish these words are similar. The multidisciplinary review committee decided that the original word ”flat” in question 4 in the Nipple scale had lost its meaning in the translation process being translated to "even” or ”smooth”. Pre-testing and cognitive debriefing of the refined scales did not reveal any further problems. The committee accepted the translation process and found no need for further adjustments.

CONCLUSIONS: The Finnish version of the CHEST-Q can now be used for data collection in the international field-test study of this new PRO instrument. After field-testing and validation it can be used to assess treatment effectiveness of chest operations.