Development and psychometric testing of a family concordance competency scale for families with children having chronic illnesses

Abstract

AimThis study aimed to develop a Family Concordance Competency Scale for Family System Units (FCCS‐Fa) for families with children having chronic disease, and to evaluate its reliability and validity.MethodsFCCS‐Fa was developed by taking the following steps: (a) drafting based on the elements comprising concordance between healthcare professionals and families with patients suffering from chronic illness; (b) evaluation of face and content validity by an expert panel; and (c) re‐examination of face and content validity by semi‐structured interviews with 16 families. Criterion‐related validity was evaluated using the existing scale and construct validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis. Analysis of each FCCS‐Fa evaluation item, internal consistency, and the 2‐week test–retest reliability was also conducted. An anonymous self‐reported questionnaire survey was conducted, targeting families with chronically ill children who were outpatients at three hospitals.ResultsA total of 196 subjects were analyzed. As results of FCCS‐Fa item analysis and exploratory factor analysis, a scale structure comprised of 17 evaluation items and three factors were adopted. In addition, a significant correlation with several existing scales was identified and the criterion‐related validity was also confirmed. The Cronbach's α coefficient for the overall scale was .927, the intraclass correlation coefficient applying the retest method was .905, and internal consistency and test–retest reliability were both confirmed.ConclusionsWe developed FCCS‐Fa with reliability and validity. Assessing family concordance competency using this scale and supporting families to achieve family concordance can lead to self‐management by families.