Adaptation of arm activity survey into turkish and its validity and reliability in women with breast cancer surgery and examination of outcome measures according to lymphedema clinical characteristics

This study aimed to adapt the Arm Activity Survey (AAS) to Turkish and to investigate its validity and reliability in women undergoing breast cancer surgery and to examine upper extremity functionality, lymphedema-specific quality of life and the perception associated with lymphedema and using the affected arm according to presence of lymphedema and clinical features of lymphedema. This study included 200 women who had with breast cancer surgery with an mean age of 55.45±9.31 years. Demographic, physical and lifestyle characteristics, medical history and symptoms associated with lymphedema and surgery were questioned. The edema volume in the arms of the individuals was calculated by Frustum model from the data obtained from the circumferential measurement, while the edema volume at hand was determined by the water displacement method. Individual's' quality of life, upper extremity functionality and preception related to lymphedema and use of the affected arm were evaluated by the Lymphedema Quality of Life Questionnaire-Arm (LYMQOL-Arm), Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Sholder and Hand (Q-DASH) and AAS, respectively. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.78) and test-retest reliability (rho = 0.98-1.0) of the AAS were found to be high. In terms of criterion validity, it was found that CAA was poorly correlated with LYMQOL-arm and Q-DASH scores (p <0.05). Upper extremity functionality, quality of life, and and some domains of AAS were found to vary according to clinical features of lymphedema (other than dominant involvement). Further studies investigating the functionality, quality of life, and perception, response and intention of arm activity according to the presence and clinical characteristics of lymphedema are needed, considering trunk edema. Key words: Breast cancer surgery, arm activity survey, lymphedema, reliability, validity, function, quality of life, arm protection avoidance.