Translation and back-translation of the TeamSTEPPS (R) teamwork assessment tool for use in simulation teaching in Brazil

Aims: To describe the results of translation and back-translation of the TeamSTEPPS (R) questionnaire to Brazilian Portuguese. This North American questionnaire has been used globally as an useful tool in simulation environment with evaluation intent, aiming at improving patient safety inside health settings, based on effective communication and teamwork. Methods: The adopted methodology consisted in translation and back-translation, with subsequent semantic analysis by experienced professors in health practice evaluations. Results: The translated tool showed a simple format and easy interpretation and understanding when analyzed by authors, professors and translators, and does not generate any kind of discrepancy in their items. In the subsequent analysis by the professors, it was shown that the items were relevant and clear to the Brazilian reality. Conclusions: All the steps of the translation and back-translation process were carried out successfully, finalizing the TeamSTEPPS (R) teamwork assessment tool in Brazilian Portuguese. The translation process of any tool is complex, and does not end in the linguistic equivalence. Therefore, a second step of this work will be the application of this scale in simulated scenarios focused in teamwork training, to retrace data on psychometric analyses in the educational context and semantic equivalence analyses.