• Irma L Molina-Vicenty, Isabel C Borrás-Fernandez, Charlene Pope, Boyd Davis, Martha Alemán-Del Toro, Irma Maldonado-Sánchez, Lillian Arroyo, Gerardo Jovet-Toledo, Clara E Dismuke, Alexandra Roque, Yahaira Díaz, Milagros Resto, Alexandra Rincones, Cecilia Soler-Llompart, Neishaliz-Díaz Acevedo, and Gabriela S Betances-Arroyo.
• ACOS/Research and Development Service, Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging Service, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Service, Audiology and Speech Pathology Service, and Psychiatry Service, VA Caribbean Healthcare System, San Juan, PR 00921, USA.
• Mil Med. 2021 Jan 25; 186 (Suppl 1): 572-578.

IntroductionThe purpose of this pilot study was to obtain preliminary data to culturally adapt the Veteran Health Administration Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) assessment instruments for the Hispanic Veteran population. A qualitative analysis explored the cognitive processes used by Hispanic Veterans whose preferred language was Spanish to understand a specific set of screening questions within the Initial TBI Screening, the Comprehensive TBI Evaluation, the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI), and the La Trobe Communication Questionnaire (LTCQ).Materials And MethodsA certified translator completed translation of the TBI instruments, an expert panel resolved inadequate expressions of the translations, and translated instruments were back translated. Male and female Hispanic Veterans with a positive TBI screening underwent a recorded administration of the TBI instruments, including LTCQ, followed by systematic debriefing using semi-structured cognitive interviews which then underwent qualitative analysis. The Marin's Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics, the Tropp's Psychological Acculturation Scale, the English-Language Proficiency Test Series, and the TBI Demographic and Language Preference interview were administered to the subjects.ResultsFifteen subjects were enrolled for the TBI instruments intervention; 11 of them completed all the additional procedures. The TBI instruments intervention seemed to produce very few variations, indicating adequate cultural equivalence. However, the LTCQ instrument showed suggested cultural variations, but did not suggest a lack of understanding or misinterpretation. The population studied displayed preferential connectedness to the Hispanic/Latino culture and to the Spanish language. The LTCQ indicated that subjects perceived themselves as having a worse execution in terms of communication skills than historical control and TBI groups. English-Language Proficiency Test Series found that most of the subject population did not demonstrate mastery of grade-appropriate basic social and academic vocabulary in English.ConclusionCurrent findings highlight the importance of using linguistically and culturally appropriate materials upon evaluating Hispanic Veterans with a suspected TBI who have Spanish as their primary or preferred language.Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2021. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

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