The I-CAM-IR: Persian Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Revised Version of the I-CAM-Q

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has shown increasing acceptance, popularity, and use all around the world. The International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (I-CAM-Q) was developed to be a standard research instrument for achieving more reliable data and enabling researchers for comparing multiple studies on CAM use. This study aimed to provide a Persian translation of I-CAM-Q that also was adapted according to Iranian culture. The I-CAM-Q was translated and back-translated to Persian by a team of 2 translators and 2 traditional Persian medicine specialists. Then an internet-based specialist survey and an experts’ panel using the DELPHI method were done to perform cross-cultural adaptation. The feasibility study of the Iranian version of I-CAM-Q (i.e., I-CAM-IR) was tested upon adult population, the final changes were done to I-CAM-IR and data were gathered from 301 hypertensive patients. The related specific words such as traditional Persian medicine and “Attar” (herbalist) were added to the questionnaire for a more precise local adaptation. Meanwhile, some structural changes were made in the first two pages of the original I-CAM-Q and the questions about disclosure were added to it. This questionnaire was easily accepted by most patients during the interview. Generally, 72.4% of our hypertensive participants used CAM but only 41.8% of them disclosed this to their physicians. I-CAM-Q is a standard questionnaire that needs to be adapted to non-English speaking countries. Generally, in this study the useage of CAM among people with hypertention was high. Therefore, it is emphesised that physisians should have adequate knowledge about it. Meanwhile, conducting multicentral researches in this field will provide the basis for accumulative data about CAM use in Iran.