French Translation and Validation of the e-HEALS and the sDHLI scales with Canadian Seniors

Introduction: e-Health literacy, the ability to understand and use online health information, can be assessed by scales such as the e-Health Literacy Scale (eHeals) and the performance sub-scale of Digital Health Literacy Instrument (sDHLI). However, these scales are not available in French.

Objective: To translate and validate the eHeals and the sDHLI from English into French.

Methodology: A translation-back translation process involving six steps with independent translators was carried out. The final versions were validated through an online survey in Canada among Canadian seniors (>65 years). The internal consistencies of the translated scales were calculated, and the average e-health literacy scores between French-speaking and English-speaking individuals were compared.

Results: A total of 1,000 Canadian seniors participated in the validation, predominantly male (54.6%), white (90.6%), English-speaking (62.9%), with a university level of education (42%). The study achieved a 100% completion rate, as all 1,000 participants fully completed the survey without any dropouts or missing data. The translated scales showed internal consistencies of 0.88 for eHeals and 0.40 for the sDHLI. Significant differences were observed between the average scores of English-speaking and French-speaking respondents for the sDHLI subscale (p < 0.0001), but not for the eHeals (p = 0.4)

Conclusion: Validated French versions of the scales have been produced and culturally adapted. The differences in scores between respondents demonstrate the importance of cultural adaptation in the translation of measurement scales.