Translation and adaptation of a questionnaire on the needs of postpartum adolescents

OBJECTIVE: Describe the processes of translation to the Portuguese language and cultural adaptation of the Postpartum Learning Needs (PLN) to the Portuguese context. METHOD: Methodological study of an instrument that was constructed and validated in Jordan. Here are presented the procedures referring to linguistic, semantic and cultural validation, involving the stages of translation from English to European Portuguese, synthesis of translations, back-translation to the original language, expert committee, and pre-testing. RESULTS: In the translation process, some vocabulary variations were solved through consensus among translators. The expert committee found that the version translated to Portuguese presented semantic, idiomatic, cultural and conceptual equivalence, while needing some adjustments. Pre-testing was applied to 45 adolescent mothers, of whom 86.6% considered the items comprehensible. CONCLUSION: Semantic, idiomatic, cultural and conceptual equivalences were conceptually satisfactory among questionnaire versions, which is relevant for the Portuguese culture and easily understandable. It is crucial to assess the psychometric properties of the questionnaire so its adapted version can be made available.