Linguistic translation and validation of the Arabic version of International Female Coital Incontinence Questionnaire (IFCI-Q)

Objectives: Aim of the study was to translate the International Female Coital Incontinence Questionnaire (IFCI-Q) into Arabic (Egyptian) and validate it into among Egyptian population complaining of coital urinary incontinence (CI). Methods: Original questionnaire has been translated and back-translated by an expert panel, to produce the Arabic version. A pilot study was performed to make sure the questionnaire was understandable. Sixty patients included in the study were divided into two groups: Group A comprised patients with CI, and Group B comprised females who attended the urology clinic for other complaints, without CI. Reliability of the Arabic IFCI-Q was evaluated for internal consistency using Cronbach alpha coefficient. Test–retest reliability was determined using the Weighted Cohen’s k-test. Discrimination validity was evaluated by comparing scores of patients with those of healthy females not complaining of CI using Mann–Whitney test. Results: 83.3% of women of both groups (mean age: 43.1 ± 10.6 yrs [Group A], 38.9 ± 8 [Group B] yrs) reported OAB symptoms, 73.3% had stress urinary incontinence and 46.7% reported mixed urinary incontinence. Regarding Group A, 10 patients had CI during penetration, 12 during orgasm and 8 had both forms of CI. The comparison of the responses between Group A and Group B demonstrated a statistically difference (p < 0.00). The content validity was assessed by a panel of expert functional urologists. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the total score were high (0.9–1), indicating high internal consistency. The difference between the two groups revealed an internal consistency of IFCI-Q of 0.563–0.851. The test–retest procedure revealed that the k-values of each item are very good. Conclusions: The Arabic version will allow utilizing this tool in a large population of Arabic-speaking countries, with different ethnic and demographic backgrounds.