Physical Treatments - Specific Physical Therapy

en Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Facial Disability Index in Iranian patients with Bell's Palsy فیزیوتراپی Physical Therapy پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;">Purpose: Bell's palsy is defined by the acute onset of unilateral facial weakness or paralysis, can significantly affect both physical functioning and emotional well-being. This study aimed to validate a culturally-adapted Persian version of the Facial Disability Index (FDI) for Iranian patients. Methods: The FDI was prepared in Persian using a translation-back translation technique. In a cross-sectional analytical study conducted in 2024, 117 (80 men, 37 women) patients were consecutively recruited from PourSina Hospital's neurosurgery, neurology, intensive care, and physiotherapy departments in Rasht (northern Iran). The mean age of the patients and the duration of Bell's palsy were 44 years and 11 days, respectively. The participants completed the Persian versions of the FDI and the short-form Health Survey (SF-36), and the scores from both tools were correlated using Spearman's coefficient to determine concurrent criterion validity. Moreover, 40 other patients were assessed to ascertain the test-retest reliability and repeatability of the FDI over a one-week interval. Results: The translation quality, including clarity, conceptual consistency, use of common language, and overall quality, was mainly favorable. The inter-rater reliability scores one week after admission for the Social Well-being and Physical Function subscales and the overall FDI were found to be excellent (ICC = 0.93 to 0.97). The internal consistency of the FDI for the total score and the subscales exceeded 0.90. Spearman correlation analyses revealed a moderate-to-strong positive relationship between the FDI dimensions and the physical and mental components of the SF-36 (0.51 to 0.93, P <0.01). Conclusion: The validated Persian FDI demonstrates robust psychometric properties, addressing a linguistic and cultural gap in assessment tools. It is a clinically suitable tool for reliably evaluating social well-being and physical in Iranian Bell's palsy patients, aiding treatment and rehabilitation monitoring.</div> Facial disability, Bell’s palsy, Questionnaire, Reliability, Validity 0 0 http://ptj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-787-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Kamran Ezzati Ez_kamran@yahoo.com 0000-0001-8671-5290 No Neuroscience Research Center, Trauma Institute, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran Shadman Nemati drshadmannemati_ent@yahoo.com 0000-0002-5246-1023 No Otorhinolaryngology Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Amiralmomenin Hospital, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. Alia Saberi alia.saberi.1@gmail.com 0000-0002-7665-5199 No Neuroscience Research Center, Trauma Institute, PourSina Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. Zoheir Reihanian Zoheir.rehanian@gmail.com 0000-0002-8249-6614 No Neuroscience Research Center, Trauma Institute, PourSina Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. Sajjad Rezaei Sajjad.Rezaei@guilan.ac.ir 0000-0001-7292-9669 Yes Department of Psychology, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran. Kimia Esmaili Kimia.Esmaili.KE@gmail.com 0000-0001-5501-5283 No Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. Babak Bakhshayesh Eghbali babak.bakh@gmail.com 0000-0002-6134-3440 No Neuroscience Research Center, Trauma Institute, PourSina Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran Sara Hemmati sarahemmati7713@gmail.com 0009-0009-8398-1257 No Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran.