Turkish version of the cancer stigma scale: validity and reliability study

In this study, the Turkish adaptation of the Korean Cancer Stigma Scale (CSS), which was developed by So, Chae, Kim, (2017), was studied for validity and reliability. Modeling of the methodological type of study sample in medicine. Of the cancer patients who came to oncology clinics and ambulatory chemotherapy units for treatment, 327 were included. Data were collected by using a personal information form and the CSS. The translation-retranslation method was used to test the Turkish validity and reliability of the original version of the CSS in English. Six sub-dimensions similar to the original CSS form were identified and factor loads were found between 0.197 and 0.903 as a result of exploratory factor analysis. However, item 6 (0.197) was removed from the scale as its factor load diverged from the recommended value. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett's sphericity tests were used to evaluate the adequacy and suitability of the sample of the research before performing the factor analysis. The KMO value was found to be 0.894, and this value showed that the scale was suitable for factor analysis. Likewise, Bartlett's sphericity test results (x(2) = 4008.269, p = 0.000) show that the data are suitable for factor analysis. Many indices were used to examine the fit of the model belonging to CSS. Of these, x(2)/SD value was found to be 2.928, GFI 0.856, IFI 0.905, CFI 0.904, RMSEA 0.077 and SRMR 0.057, and it was decided that the scale was acceptable. The Cronbach alpha coefficient value measured for CSS is equal to 0.897. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the CSS sub-dimension 'social isolation' is equal to 0.917, 'distancing or avoiding' 0.852, 'attribution' 0.898, 'guilt' 0.758, 'discrimination' 0.692 and 'lack of medical support' 0.664. Confirmatory factor analysis fit index values, normal and acceptable values were determined for CSS consisting of 23 items and 6 sub-dimensions.