For anyone who is new to the use of psychometrically-evaluated measures, there are some guidelines that are normally followed. Ideally, researchers use a version of the LMUP that has already been validated for the context/setting/language they are working in. If such a validated LMUP version exists, it is important to use the version of the LMUP as it was validated, i.e. use all the questions, in the same order, with the same wording in which they were validated.

Translating the LMUP

If, for the context/setting/language of interest, a validated version of the LMUP does not exist, it is possible to translate the LMUP into new languages and to make cultural adaptations so the measure is suitable for the new population or country context. The most usual cultural adaptation is to item 6 (pre-conceptual preparations) - see the Indian and Malawi translations for examples. When a language or cultural adaptation has been made, it is normal for the psychometric properties of the new version of the LMUP to be established.

If you are thinking of translating or adapting the LMUP please email us at an early stage.

As good practice, you should include an LMUP developer on your expert group as part of the translation and/or cultural adaptation process. We provide this as a free service.

Guidance on translation/cultural adaptation of a measure

Guidance on translation or cultural adaptation of a measure is available from a variety of sources. Two accessible guides are:

Beaton DE, Bombardier C, Guillemin F, Ferraz MB. 2000 Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures SPINE 25; 24:3186-3191 Abstract (If you have problems accessing this paper, please email us.)

Souse VD, Rojjanasrirat W. 2011 Translation, adaptation and validation of instruments or scales for use in cross-cultural health care research: a clear and user-friendly guideline Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 17:268-274 Abstract (If you have problems accessing this paper, please email us.)

Translations not yet evaluated

The version of the LMUP below has been produced through translation and back-translation but has not yet been used in data collection or evaluated.

Russian (Word doc)

Translation companies

Translation companies that we have used in the past (for the LMUP and other studies) and that we would recommend are below.

BeTranslated (a variety of European and Asian languages)

TalkRussian (Russian)

Twigg's Translations (German)