South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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There is an evident need for standardised, internationally recognised instruments to measure health-related outcomes that are also locally applicable. The European Quality of Life 5-Dimensions (EQ-5D) is a widely used measure of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) that was translated into Xhosa. This communication outlines some of the different cultural and linguistic issues that had to be addressed during the translation process. ⋯ Despite the rigorous process followed, later additions had to be made to the questionnaire after field testing. It would appear that extreme caution should be exercised when using a questionnaire in a culture and language different from the one in which it was originally developed and validated. If this is not done, the validity of cross-cultural research projects may be open to question.