Development and Validation of the Oral Health-Related Self-Efficacy Scale for Cancer Patients

This study aimed to validate the Oral Health-related Self-Efficacy Scale for Patients with Cancer (OSEC), comprised of 17 questions (five factors). To this end, a sample of 203 cancer patients was recruited (August 2018–April 2019) followed by a random subsampling for test-retest reliability. Concurrent validity was tested by correlating scores with the Self-efficacy Scale for Advanced Cancer (SEAC), discriminant validity was tested by comparing high OSEC to low OSEC groups, and predictive validity was tested using a plaque control record. Five OSEC factors had Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.75 to 0.88. The intraclass correlation coefficient of the total score was 0.92 upon test-retest reliability. The factor-level scores significantly related to all the SEAC factor-level scores. The differences between the high OSEC and low OSEC groups were statistically significant in the total score and on all factor-level scores (p < 0.01). The plaque control record of the high OSEC group was significantly lower than that of the low OSEC group (p < 0.01). In conclusion, the OSEC can be used for understanding cancer patients’ motives for oral care behaviors and applied to program planning to increase self-efficacy and health behaviors.