Adaptation and validation of Mishel’s scale of uncertainty against disease in diagnostic procedures

Abstract

Uncertainty is a condition that may be present in people when they experience an illness and is likely to be at its highest at the time of medical diagnosis. Objective: To adapt and validate the Uncertainty in Illness Scale in patients who are awaiting diagnostic procedures. The modifications to the scale are based on the Mishel’s Uncertainty in Illness Theory. Materials and methods: Evaluation of diagnostic tests in which the content validity was carried out by a panel of 9 experts, facial validity was performed on a sample of 293 people and for the construct validity and reliability the scale was applied to 279 patients who were awaiting a diagnostic procedure. Results: These indicated a global content validity index of 0.861, the gross comprehensibility reached 98% and the construct validity identified the four aspects of the original scale: Ambiguity, complexity, inconsistency and unpredictability. The scale showed a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.904. Conclusion: The Uncertainty in Illness Scale is understandable, with a high level of content validity according to expert criteria and recognizes the uncertainty aspects proposed by Mishel. © 2019, Universidad de Concepcion. All rights reserved.