Transcultural Adaptation of the Spanish Version of the ABILHAND Scale for Hand Surgery in a Colombian Population of Patients with Hand Pathologies

Purpose Because manual ability is a latent and complex variable that is closely linked to an individual’s well-being and daily functioning, it is important to assess it through patient-reported outcome measures that capture the patient’s own perception of dexterity in everyday life. This study aimed to develop a Spanish version of the ABILHAND-Hs scale that is equivalent to the original but adapted to evaluate the most prevalent hand pathologies in Colombia. Methods A group of bilingual experts translated the ABILHAND scale from English into Spanish using a forward–backward translation method. A patient focus group evaluated the suitability and comprehensibility of each item. The researchers administered the Spanish version of the scale, along with the Quick DASH (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand), 12-item Short Form Survey (SF-12), and the numerical pain scale (NPS), to 220 adults diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, de Quervain tenosynovitis, distal radius fracture, or hand fracture who attended hand surgery consultations or underwent physical or hand therapy between May and August 2023. The scale’s validity, internal consistency, reliability, and fit to the Rasch model were analyzed using WINSTEPS software. Results The Spanish version of the ABILHAND-Hs covers a measurement range of 6.27 logits and includes 19 bimanual items and two unimanual activities on a 3-level grading scale. The instrument demonstrates validity, reliability, unidimensionality, and local independence and shows no important differential item functioning based on patient characteristics. It correlates fairly with SF-12, moderately with Quick DASH, and poorly with the NPS. It remains stable in the same clinical conditions and shows fair sensitivity to change. Conclusions ABILHAND-Hs in Spanish achieves conceptual, semantic, operational, and functional equivalence with the original instrument. Type of study/level of evidence Diagnostic Ib.