Motivation for healing scale in patients with cancer: Turkish validity and reliability study

Abstract

The present study was conducted to translate and culturally adapt the Motivation for Healing Scale (MHS) for individuals diagnosed with cancer in Türkiye and to examine whether the adapted version demonstrates satisfactory validity and reliability. This methodological study was conducted through face-to-face interviews. The study was carried out in the oncology clinic of a university hospital located in eastern Türkiye. The sample consisted of 202 patients receiving cancer treatment at the oncology clinic. The primary outcomes were the validity and reliability properties of the Turkish version of the Motivation for Healing Scale (MHS), including content validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability. Secondary outcomes included confirmation of the original factor structure and evaluation of model fit indices. The content validity assessment showed that item-level validity scores ranged between 0.80 and 1.00, while the overall scale validity score was calculated as 0.96. Results from confirmatory factor analysis verified the original 25-item structure consisting of five dimensions. Good model fit was observed based on the fit index values. Reliability analysis demonstrated that Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the subdimensions fell between 0.778 and 0.909. The reliability coefficient for the complete scale was 0.918, whereas McDonald’s omega was determined to be 0.911. Findings from repeated measurement analysis also indicated that the scale maintained consistency over time. The adapted Turkish form of the Motivation for Healing Scale appears to be a dependable and valid measurement instrument for assessing healing motivation among cancer patients. The scale may support healthcare providers in recognizing patients’ motivational status and designing more individualized care strategies accordingly.