Development of a hope and hopelessness scale for female patients with gynaecological problems

Development of a Hope and Hopelessness Scale for Female Patients with Gynaecological Problems Identifying and evaluating the feelings of hope and hopelessness of female patients with gynaecological problems with valid and reliable tools is very important in coping with these problems. This study aims to develop a measurement tool to determine the level of hope and hopelessness of female patients with gynaecological problems. The study sample consisted of 300 female patients with gynaecological issues who were either hospitalized in the gynaecology clinics or attended the outpatient clinics of a university hospital in Trabzon for the principal component analysis. For the confirmatory factor analysis, the sample included 229 different female patients who were also hospitalized in the same gynaecology clinics or attended outpatient clinics. Test-retest analysis was conducted with 30 female patients with gynaecological problems. Data were collected using the information form and the draft Hope-Hopelessness Scale for Female Patients with Gynaecological Problems. As a result of the analyses, the content validity index of the draft scale was 0.82. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value for principal component analysis was 0.89, Barlett's test value was χ²=2929.616 (p<0.05), and anti-image correlation values were between 0.78 and 0.93. In the principal component analysis, the Hope and Hopelessness Scale for Female Patients with Gynaecological Problems was formed with 19 items and four subscales, with factor loading values of the items ranging between 0.837 and 0.635. In confirmatory factor analysis, corrected χ²/Sd was 1.76, RMSEA was 0.06, GFI was 0.90, SRMR was 0.05, CFI was 0.94, NFI was 0.90, and TLI was 0.93. For convergent validity, the average explained variance of the scale subscales was between 0.49-0.57 and construct reliability values were between 0.78-0.86. The total Cronbach's Alpha value of the scale was 0.90, item total correlation values were between 0.35-0.72, r=0.95 (p<0.001) and t=1.651 (p>0.05) for test-retest. In addition, the mean total score of the scale according to female patients was 4.411±0.545. Age, education level, number of children, disease status and admission unit of female patients affected the mean hopelessness scores (p<0.05). In conclusion, the Hope and Hopelessness Scale, as assessed through the statements of the patients, can be used as a valid and reliable measurement tool for female patients with gynaecological problems. Key Word: Gynaecological Diseases, Hope, Hopelessness, Patient, Scales, Women