Tradução, validação e adaptação transcultural da Workplace Support Scale

Abstract

Introduction: The inclusion of people with disabilities (PwD) in the workplace brings personal and social benefits, promoting participation in a central area of occupation. However, there are barriers that restrict inclusion and work participation. Identifying these barriers is essential to guide interventions and promote equitable opportunities at work. Objective: To translate and adapt the Workplace Support Scale (WSS) into Brazilian Portuguese. Methods: Methodological study of cross-cultural adaptation, following international guidelines: (I) translation, (II) synthesis, (III) expert committee, (IV) cognitive interviews (CI), and (V) back-translation. The translation was authorized by the original author and approved by the Research Ethics Committee (CAAE: 82236224.2.0000.5154). Four rounds of CI were conducted, with 3 participants in each—working PwD selected by convenience sampling—analyzed according to the Question Appraisal System (QAS-99). Results: In step I, 36 statements were translated from English to Portuguese, with 100% agreement in 12 of them. In step II, differences between translations (T1 and T2) were analyzed, and 30% of the statements required adjustments. In step III, version T1-2 was independently reviewed by specialists, with 47% of the statements remaining unchanged. Thirty statements were analyzed during the CI, and the changes made referred to: clarity (3%), instructions (17%), and readability (6%). The adjustments were related to terms such as “employment bond,” “inclusive environment,” and “considered accommodations,” which required modifications to enhance comprehension in the Brazilian context. The final round resulted in no changes, indicating consistency in the item translations. The final back-translated version was approved by the original author without modifications. Conclusion: The Brazilian version of the WSS, Workplace Support BR, proved to be culturally appropriate, semantically equivalent to the original, and suitable for psychometric validation.