Development and validation of the body image scale among Thai breast cancer patients

Abstract

Objective: To examine the psychometric property of the Thai version of the Body Image Scale (BIS) in breast cancer patients in Thailand.

Material and method: The authors conducted a cross-culture translation of the BIS into the Thai language and administered it to 242 breast cancer patients who had surgery and had completed chemo-radiation for more than one year.

Results: The present study confirmed a good reliability and validity of Thai version of BIS. The questionnaire has high internal and external consistency; Cronbach's alpha was above 0.8 and test-retest reliability was more than 0.7. Content validity was confirmed by expert opinion and cognitive interview with breast cancer patients. Construct validity was examined though factor analysis showed a single-factor solution which excludes one item from the original 10-item scale. Discriminant validity which confirmed by different score between mastectomy and breast conserving surgery group and good response prevalence also supported the clinical validity of the test.

Conclusion: Thai version of the BIS showed a good psychometric property and can be used as a patient-physician communication and quality of life evaluation tool after breast cancer treatment in Thai women.