Validation of the Italian version of the Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief

Introduction

A growing awareness of psychological and functional impairment due to burns have led to the development of specific instruments to evaluate Quality of Life in this population, such as the Burn Specific Health Scale – Brief (BSHS-B), whose psychometric properties have been consistently verified. The aim of this study was to translate the BSHS-B into Italian and to investigate its reliability and validity.

Methods

Translation procedures were carried out according to accepted standards. Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Concurrent validity was evaluated through correlations between the BSHS-B and the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36), the Self-report Clinical Inventory (SCL-90), and the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT).

Results

The overall Cronbach's alpha value for the scale was 0.887. Significant correlations were found between the Italian BSHS-B domains, the SF-36 subscales (Spearman's rho: 0.184–0.414), and several SCL-90 subscales (Spearman's rho: −0.173 to −0.477). Furthermore, the affect and relationship domain and the skin domain of the BSHS-B negatively correlated with the compulsive self-monitoring and depersonalization subscales of the BUT.

Conclusion

The Italian translation of BSHS-B has shown satisfactory internal consistency, criterion validity, and convergent validity, supporting its application in routine clinical practice as well as in international studies.