Brazilian Portuguese version of the CORE-OM: cross-cultural adaptation of an instrument to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy

Introduction: The Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measurement (CORE-OM) was developed in the 1990s, with the aim of assessing the efficacy and effectiveness of mental health treatments. Objective: To adapt the CORE-OM for use in the Brazilian population. Method: The instrument was translated and adapted based on the international protocol developed by the CORE System Trust which contains seven steps: translation, semantic equivalence analysis, synthesis of the translated versions, pre-testing in the target population, data analysis and back translation. Results: After semantic analysis, modifications were necessary in seven of the 34 original items. Changes were made to avoid repetition of words and the use of terms difficult to understand. Internal consistency analysis showed evidence of score stability in the CORE-OM adapted to Brazilian Portuguese. Conclusion: The instrument was successfully adapted to Brazilian Portuguese, and its semantic and conceptual properties were equivalent to those of the original instrument.