UTAUT2-Based Questionnaire: Translation to Canadian French, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Cognitive Debriefing (Preprint)

BACKGROUND From the early stages of development of a new tool or device to its implementation in real-life settings, it is crucial to take the perception of potential users into consideration. A number of theories have been proposed to better understand acceptance of technology. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) combines eight of these theories and has been shown to accurately predict technology acceptance. An extended version, the UTAUT2, was proposed in 2012 and includes three new concepts to accurately analyze acceptance and usage of technology from a consumer perspective. No validated Canadian French version of this tool currently exists. OBJECTIVE The main objective was to cross-culturally adapt the UTAUT2-based questionnaire for use in the French-Canadian population. A cognitive debriefing involving potential users (workers) and experts (rehabilitation clinicians) was included to confirm clarity and relevance of questionnaire content. METHODS The procedure was developed in line with published guidelines and included five steps: (1) Forward translation by two bilingual members of the research team, (2) Synthesis of the translated versions by the research team, (3) Backward translation by two other bilingual members, (4) Synthesis by a multidisciplinary committee and proposal of the Pre-final Canadian French UTAUT2-based questionnaire, and (5) Cognitive debriefing. Cognitive debriefing consisted in the assessment of the clarity of the pre-final version content by a French-Canadian sample of potential responders (i.e. workers) and by an expert panel of rehabilitation professionals. Experts also appraised the relevance of each item of the pre-final version. Any questionnaire content or item not reaching an 80% inter-rater agreement for clarity or relevance was re-evaluated by the multidisciplinary committee until a final version was unanimously approved. RESULTS The multidisciplinary committee (n=6) was composed of researchers and clinicians from four different backgrounds. Twelve workers and 12 experts participated in the cognitive debriefing step. Each content or item (n=40) was judged as "clear" by at least 92% of the worker sample. When clarity was assessed by the experts, six terms/phrases did not reach 80% agreement and were therefore reviewed by the multidisciplinary committee. Four of the 27 items were also reviewed by the committee following the experts’ relevance assessment. The final version of the Canadian French UTAUT2-based questionnaire was approved unanimously by the members of the multidisciplinary committee. CONCLUSIONS The final version of the Canadian French version of the UTAUT2-based questionnaire is culturally appropriate for use in French-speaking Canada. Further studies are necessary to determine its psychometric properties.