Development of the Persian Version of the Job Content Questionnaire: Assessment of Job Stress among Hospital Nurses of Shiraz City

Stress has become an increasingly important occupational health problem throughout the world. Researches have revealed various health outcomes to be positively associated with job stress. The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) is a widely used self-administered instrument to measure social and psychological characteristics of jobs. Since the JCQ is an applicable instrument for assessing job stress dimensions in the workplace, preparation of the Persian version of the questionnaire can be a significant step towards conducting systematic studies on job stress among Iranian workers. This study was, therefore, conducted with the objective of developing the Persian version of the JCQ and making it available for the research purposes. The questionnaire included 58 questions, including decision latitude; psychological demands; physical demands; job insecurity; social support; level of skill; and physical hazard. Preparation of a translated version of JCQ consisted of linguistic validity encompassing forward translation, backward translation, and cognitive debriefing. Forward and backward translations were done by a qualified translator and a qualified English teacher, blind to the original English questions, respectively. The back translation was also sent to the JCQ Center for problematic translations. For cognitive debriefing, 20 hospital nurses were asked to fill out the translated version. Based on the JCQ center suggestions and the notes of the nurses, the final Persian version of the JCQ was prepared. The results showed that there was no major ambiguity in the translated version and the translated JCQ went through cognitive debriefing successfully. Suggestions from the JCQ Center contributed to remove problematic translations and preparing an equivalent Persian translation. The Persian version of JCQ is now accepted for use by the JCQ Center. In the next phase, the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the JCQ will be assessed.

کلیدواژه ها:

Job Content Questionnaire ، Persian version of JCQ ، Translation ، Job stress