Turkish translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and assessment of psychometric properties of the Ottawa sitting scale for the intensive care unit survivors

Purpose To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Ottawa Sitting Scale (OSS) developed for acute care patients into Turkish and to examine its psychometric properties in intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. Methods After translation process the Turkish version of the scale was adminstered to eighty-one patients aged 39-82 years after discharge from the ICU and videotape was recorded. Two physiotherapists watched the videotaped records during the evaluation and scored. Test-retest reliability was assesed by scoring the same video recordings 15 days after the initial scoring. Correlations of the OSS with Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Functional Independence Measurement (FIM), the ICU length of stay and, total mechanical ventilation duration were assessed for convergent validity. Results The intra-class correlation coefficient for inter and intra-rater reliability was 0.989-0.994 and 0.998 respectively. The internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.998). The OSS score was highly correlated with the BBS total score (r = 0.716), the BBS unsupported sitting item score (r = 0.863), and moderately correlated with the total score of the FIM (r = 0.602), the number of days in ICU (r= -0.545), and total mechanical ventilation duration (r = -0.518). Conclusion The Turkish version of OSS has been found to be valid and reliable in assessment of sitting balance in patients discharged from intensive care unit.