Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of female self-advocacy in cancer survivorship scale

Objective: To translate Female Self-Advocacy in Cancer Survivorship (FSACS) scale and evaluate the psychometric properties of Chinese version of FSACS scale among female cancer survivors in China. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design. FSACS scale was forward-backward translated and cognitive interviews were conducted for cultural adaptation. The newly translated tool was distributed to female cancer survivors to test psychometric properties, including item analysis, content validity, construct validity, criterion validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Results: A total of 436 female cancer survivors were recruited in a Chinese tertiary cancer center from May to August in 2021. Item analysis showed statistical significance (P < 0.05) for each one and no ceiling or floor effect. The item-level content validity index ranged from 0.86 to 1.00 and the scale-level content validity index was 0.98. Three factors were extracted based on parallel analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis proved a good model fit with the original 3-factor structure. Pearson's correlation coefficient showed acceptable criterion validity. The Cronbach's a of 0.880 demonstrated the scale's internal consistency reliability, and the Alpha coefficients were 0.826, 0.763, and 0.859 for its three dimensions, respectively. The interclass correlation coefficients for test-retest reliability was 0.904 (0.870-0.891, P < 0.01) which confirmed the external reliability of the scale. Conclusions: The Chinese version of FSACS scale proved to be a valid and reliable instrument that can be applied among Chinese female cancer survivors. Further research could be conducted in larger populations or people in different cancer stages.