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Cross-cultural validation of the Dutch Vertigo Symptom Scale - Short Form: dimensionality, reliability and cultural differences in symptom reporting

A dispatch from PubMed — filed

The Vertigo Symptom Scale - Short Form (VSS-SF) is a widely used questionnaire to measure vestibular symptoms such as dizziness and vertigo. Most cross-cultural validations focus only on translation and basic psychometrics, providing limited insight into cross-national comparability....

Clinical Takeaway

The Dutch VSS-SF is a valid and reliable tool for assessing vestibular symptoms in Dutch-speaking patients, but clinicians should be aware that cultural background can influence how patients describe dizziness — a nuance relevant when using standardised questionnaires across diverse populations.

Why It Matters

Reliable cross-cultural outcome measures are essential for consistent vestibular research and clinical assessment across multilingual and multicultural patient populations.

Key Points
  1. 01The Dutch Vertigo Symptom Scale – Short Form (VSS-SF) demonstrated acceptable dimensionality and reliability.
  2. 02Cultural differences in vestibular symptom reporting were identified across study groups.
  3. 03Cross-cultural validation strengthens the tool's use in international vestibular research.
  4. 04Findings may inform how clinicians interpret VSS-SF scores in culturally diverse clinics.
  5. 05The study contributes psychometric evidence supporting the VSS-SF as a standardised outcome measure.
Claims & Evidence

The Dutch VSS-SF demonstrates acceptable reliability for measuring vestibular symptoms.

studysupported

Cultural background influences how patients report vertigo symptoms on standardised scales.

studypartially supported
Research metadata
PMID
42270828
DOI
10.1186/s41687-026-01109-x.
Journal
Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes
Publication type
research_article
Evidence level
2b
Population
Dutch-speaking individuals being assessed for vestibular/vertigo symptoms
Intervention
Dutch Vertigo Symptom Scale – Short Form (VSS-SF) cross-cultural validation
Comparator
Other language/cultural versions of the VSS-SF

Primary outcomes

Dimensionality of the Dutch VSS-SF; Internal reliability of the Dutch VSS-SF; Cross-cultural differences in symptom reporting

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