Development of Hospital Perception Scale for Healthy Children (HPSHC) and Investigation of Its Psychometric...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Psychology
• Child Health Research
• Psychometric Evaluation

Background:

• Assessing children's perceptions of hospitalization is crucial for improving healthcare experiences.
• Existing tools may not adequately capture the nuanced views of healthy children aged 8-10.
• There is a need for a validated instrument to understand this specific demographic's hospital experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically evaluate a scale measuring healthy children's perceptions of hospital environments.
• To ensure the scale is valid and reliable for children aged 8 to 10 years.
• To provide a tool for understanding children's middle childhood experiences during hospitalization.

Main Methods:

• A methodological research design was utilized.
• Content, face, item, and construct validity were assessed.
• Internal consistency, measurer reliability, and measurement invariance were evaluated for reliability.

Main Results:

• The study included 330 children aged 8-10 years.
• The developed scale comprises six factors with factor loads ranging from 0.42 to 0.79.
• The scale demonstrated strong reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 and item-total correlations between 0.42 and 0.79.

Conclusions:

• The Hospital Perception Scale for Healthy Children (HPSHC) is a psychometrically sound instrument.
• The HPSHC is a valid and reliable tool for assessing children's perceptions of hospitalization.
• This scale can be utilized by healthcare professionals to understand and address the experiences of hospitalized children.