The psychometric evaluation of the Turkish version of the Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability in patients in the early period after stroke

Abstract

Background/aim: The Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA) is an efficient tool that allows physicians to determine thealertness, cooperation, and respiration of patients, which are important factors when assessing swallowing. This study aimed to translatethe MASA into Turkish (T-MASA) and to assess its reliability and validity in patients during the early period after a stroke.Materials and methods: The scale was administered to 141 patients in the early period after a stroke. For reliability, both internalconsistency (Cronbach’s alpha and corrected item-to-total correlations) and interrater reliability were analyzed. The procedures werescored by two blinded independent expert observers. The validity was assessed using the convergent validity. The cut-off value of theT-MASA for dysphagia was accepted as 169 points. The correlation between the MASA and endoscopic evaluation was evaluated.Results: The T-MASA showed good internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha (0.899–0.901) and corrected item-to-total correlations.In addition, the intraclass correlation coefficient scores indicated excellent agreement. A significant moderate negative correlation wasfound between endoscopic evaluation and the T-MASA in terms of the presence of dysphagia (r: –0.324, r: –0.302, respectively, andboth P = 0.001)Conclusion: Our results suggest that the Turkish version of the MASA is a valid and reliable instrument when determining dysphagiain patients in the early period after a stroke.