Adaptation of the Halitozis Associated Life-Quality Test (HALT) Into Turkish: Preliminary Results
11th ISPEC International Conference on Medical and Health Sciences, Madrid, İspanya, 23 - 31 Mayıs 2026, ss.15-16, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: Madrid
- Basıldığı Ülke: İspanya
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.15-16
- Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Objective Halitosis is an important condition that can affect individuals’ social and psychological well-being, and there is a need for valid and reliable measurement tools to assess this impact. The aim of this study was to perform the cultural adaptation of the Halitosis Associated Life-Quality Test (HALT) into Turkish and to present the preliminary evaluation findings. Materials and Methods This methodological study was conducted in accordance with international guidelines for scale adaptation (Beaton et al., WHO). The HALT scale was independently translated into Turkish by two translators, and the resulting translations were reconciled by the research team to obtain a single version. Subsequently, a back-translation procedure was applied to evaluate linguistic and conceptual equivalence with the original scale. Content validity was assessed by a panel of five experts experienced in the field. The comprehensibility and cultural appropriateness of the scale were evaluated through a pilot study conducted with 30 volunteer participants. Feedback regarding the clarity and understandability of the items was obtained from the participants, and minor linguistic revisions were made to a limited number of items based on this feedback. Results The results of the pilot study indicated that the Turkish version of the HALT scale was generally found to be understandable and applicable by the participants. Minor linguistic revisions were made to some items in line with participant feedback. Positive findings were obtained regarding the comprehensibility of the scale in the target population. Factor analysis revealed that the scale had a unidimensional structure and explained a substantial proportion of the total variance. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be 0.95. Conclusion The Turkish version of the HALT scale appears to be appropriate in terms of comprehensibility and applicability based on the preliminary findings. However, further advanced psychometric analyses with larger sample sizes are required to establish the validity and reliability of the scale. Keywords Halitosis, quality of life, scale adaptation, cultural adaptation, HALT