Translation and cultural adaptation of tools to assess diverse Asian American and Asian Canadian subgroups: The Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) Study

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe availability of sociocultural and language-appropriate study materials and instruments is critical for the assessment of cognitive function in people from diverse backgrounds. This report describes the translations and cultural adaptations of study materials for the Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) study. METHODSWe performed translations and cultural adaptations in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) translation guidelines to ensure reliable, complete, and culturally appropriate translations from English to the specified Asian languages. RESULTSWe developed Asian language versions of the ACAD documents (consent, data collection packet, and community and social media outreach materials) reflecting the sociocultural backgrounds of the ACAD target population (i.e., older Asian adults) DISCUSSIONThe multistep translation process accounting for distinctive Asian sociocultural and language backgrounds provides an important guideline for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) researchers to promote health literacy and research with underrepresented Asian American and Canadian adults.