Reliability and validity test of the Chinese version of rheumatoid arthritis stigma scale / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the Chinese version of rheumatoid arthritis stigma scale (ISMI-RA) and test its reliability and validity.Methods:The English version of ISMI-RA was translated into Chinese, translated back and culturally adapted in strictly accordance with the Brislin translation model. A total of 20 patients were selected for preliminary investigation and some items were revised to create the Chinese version of ISMI-RA. From April 2020 to April 2021, 258 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were investigated by convenience sampling method, Pearson correlation intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) coefficient and Cronbach's α coefficient were used to evaluate the test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the scale. The stigma scale for chronic illness-8 was used as the standard, and the correlation coefficient was calculated to verify the criterion validity. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the construct validity of the scale.Results:The internal consistency Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.86, the Cronbach's α coefficient of each dimension was 0.34-0.93, and Pearson correlation analysis of retest reliability showed that it was 0.94. The Cronbach's α coefficient of stigma resistance subscale was as low as 0.34, and the Cronbach's α coefficient of stigma resistance subscale was 0.90 after removal. The retest reliability was 0.98. The criterion coefficient between this scale and the stigma scale for chronic illness-8 was 0.73 ( P<0.001), and the criterion coefficient of the subscales were 0.52-0.71. The theoretical factor structure of ISMI-RA that is composed of five factors showed suboptimal model fitting [root-mean-square error of approximation ( RMSEA)=0.10, Tucker-Lewis index ( TLI)=0.88, comparative fit index (CFI)=0.89)], and the model fitting effect was better after removing the dimension of resistance to stigma and three items ( RMSEA=0.09, CFI=0.94, TLI=0.93). Conclusion:The Chinese version of ISMI-RA has good reliability and validity, and can be used as an evaluation tool to measure the level of stigma in rheumatoid arthritis patients, and to provide a basis for clinical development of intervention programs to facilitating the rehabilitation process.