Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool into Japanese: A Preliminary Report

Background: There is a need for tools in primary care to support clinicians to identify patients with unmet palliative care needs. The Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT) is concise and covers most conditions in primary care settings. However, the SPICT was not available in Japanese. Methods: The translation and cultural adaptation of the SPICT was conducted in four stages: forward translation (Stage I), synthesis (Stage II), back translation (Stage III), and expert committee review (Stage IV). Results: During the translation process, any content challenging to translate was addressed in Stage II and through discussion among the researchers. The expert committee review provided valuable insights on palliative care in Japan in addition to the translation. Conclusion: The Japanese version of the SPICT and its user guide are ready to be tested in clinical settings. They have the potential to help Japanese family physicians integrate palliative care in their care of patients with all life-limiting illnesses.