Adaptação transcultural e avaliação das propriedades psicométricas do Home Environmental Assessment Protocol Revision (HEAP-R) para uso no Brasil

Abstract

Environmental factors play an important role on elderly people’s functionality, working as either facilitators or barriers for occupational performance. An ill-adapted environment decreases function and may lead to accidents; thus, it should be modified to seek better engagement in activities of daily living and to prevent injuries. In order to evaluate the adequacy of elderly people's environment through a scientific validated instrument, we decided to cross-culturally adapt and assess the psychometric properties of the Home Environmental Assessment Protocol Revision (HEAP-R). We carried out a first study to identify how Health professionals and researchers assess the home environment of elderly individuals. To achieve this, we conducted a systematic review of national and international studies following PRISMA’s recommendations. A second study aimed at the cross-cultural adaptation and assessment of the content and construct validity and the interrater reliability of HEAP-R for Brazil was then carried out. The method was separated in two stages, the first being the translation and cross-cultural adaptation, from which the Brazilian version of the instrument was obtained, and, posteriorly, HEAP-R’s validity and reliability analysis. The outcomes of the literature review pointed out an absence of instruments to assess elderly people’s environment in the Latin American context, as well as the importance of evaluating the subjectivity of elderly individuals regarding the environment - not only the use of instruments to assess the physical aspects of their residence. In the HEAP-R’s adaptation and validation study, we obtained semantic, idiomatic, cultural and conceptual equivalence of the Brazilian version with the original one. Furthermore, the preliminary psychometric analysis indicated that the instrument presented evidence of validity and reliability; however, more studies are needed. Studies in the field of elderly people’s environmental factors should be expanded, especially in regards to standardized assessment, so that, in the future, the environmental impacts on these people’s functionality and quality of life can be verified. Besides that, this instrument is adapted to Brazilian contexts.