Validation of the Family Integration Experience Scale: Chronic Illness for the Portuguese language spoken in Brazil

Objective:

to conduct the cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Family Integration Experience Scale: Chronic Illness in Brazilian Portuguese.

Method:

a methodological study divided into two stages. In the first stage, the Family Integration Experience Scale: Chronic Illness was cross-culturally adapted for Brazilian culture, when the scale was subjected to translations, back-translations, and a committee of judges - to verify the semantic, linguistic, and contextual equivalence between the original and translated items. The second step was to validate the scale in a sample of families of children and adolescents with chronic illnesses. The participants were 230 families of children with chronic illnesses attending the outpatient clinic of a tertiary public hospital with teaching and research characteristics.

Results:

internal consistency was tested using Cronbach’s alpha (0.81) and McDonald’s omega (0.81). Confirmatory factor analysis was also tested, and the model’s fit was acceptable for validation standards.

Conclusion:

the version of the Family Integration Experience Scale: Chronic Illness showed evidence of validation and can be considered a valid and reliable instrument in Brazilian culture. The Brazilian Portuguese version of the Family Integration Experience Scale: Chronic Illness can be used to measure the experience of family integration in chronic illness.

Descriptors:
Chronic disease; Family; Validation studies; Family relationships; Family nursing; Pediatric nursing

Highlights:

(1) Validation of the Family Integration Experience Scale: Chronic Illness (FIES: CI).

(2) Family Integration Experience Scale: Chronic Illness.

(3) Optimal management of chronic illnesses involving interactions with health professionals.

(4) Strategies for strengthening family relationships in the context of chronic illness.

(5) Integration process used by family members to adapt to the illness.