Stigma and discrimination tendency scale in nurses development

Purpose: The purpose of this methodological descriptive study was to develop "Stigmatization and Discrimination Tendency in Nurses Scale" Materials ve Methods: The study was conducted in Ondokuz Mayıs University Healthcare Practice and Research Center between 11/03/2020 and 15/06/2023. In the study, a mixed design research method using qualitative and quantitative methods together was utilized. During the first stage of the study, phenomenological interviews were carried out with 21 nurses. In line with the data acquired from the literature review and interviews with the nurses, an item pool for the scale was created. During the second stage of the study, validity and reliability analyses of the "Stigmatization and Discrimination Tendency in Nurses Scale Draft" was applied to 400 nurses according to scale development steps. In analysis of the quantitative data, the SPSS 28 and IBM SPSS Amos 21.0 programs were utilized. In analysis of the qualitative data, the MAXQDA program was utilized. Findings: According to the expert opinions, Content Validity Index of the Stigmatization and Discrimination Tendency in Nurses Scale was found to be 0.97. As a result of the confirmatory factor analysis, the scale was finalized as 17 items and four subscales (perception and awareness, contagious disease, obesity, mental illness). Goodnes of fit values of the Stigmatization and Discrimination Tendency in Nurses Scale were found to be χ²/sd: 2.879, GFI: 0.918, AGFI: 0.887, CFI: 0.922, RMSEA: 0.069, SRMR: 0.061). As a result of the test-retest which determined the reliability of the scale against time, the fit between the answers was found to be very good (ICC: 0.960, p<0.001). It was determined that the total Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was 0.777 and the Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficients of the subscales ranged from 0.675 to 0.862. As a result of the qualitative data analysis, four themes and 27 subthemes were obtained. Main themes in the study were specified as reasons of stigmatization and discrimination, groups subjected to stigmatization and discrimination, outcomes of stigmatization and discrimination and recommendations for preventing stigmatization and discrimination. Conclusion: In the present study, it was determined that the Stigmatization and Discrimination Tendency in Nurses Scale (SDTNS) was a valid and reliable scale. Keywords: Discrimination, Stigmatization, Tendency, Nurse