Development and validation of the isiZulu quality of recovery score

Background: Recovery from anaesthesia and surgery is an important marker of the quality of perioperative care. One extensively validated score in assessing this is the Quality of Recovery-15 items (QoR-15) score. This study aimed to translate the QoR-15 score into isiZulu and validate both the original and translated version on an isiZulu speaking population. Methodology: A randomised quantitative observational study was performed testing the original and the translated version of the QoR-15 score. In a crossover format, patients were asked to complete both questionnaires with 40 minutes allowed between each questionnaire. A 100 mm visual analogue score (VAS) was completed by each participant as a comparative tool for overall quality of recovery. Results: There was good correlation between the English and isiZulu score 0.91 (p < 0.001) and substantial agreement between the scores (mean weighted kappa: 0.69). There was a negative correlation between duration of surgery and total QoR-15 scores for both the English (-0.3; p < 0.001) and isiZulu (-0.29; p < 0.001) questionnaires, and a positive correlation between VAS scores and total QoR-15 scores for both the English (0.38; p < 0.001) and isiZulu (0.38; p < 0.001) questionnaires. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the QoR-15 score is suitable to use in an isiZulu speaking patient population. The translated isiZulu version is comparable to the English QoR-15 score and should be used to assess the QoR to improve patient care.