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Chinese stigma scale for healthcare professionals shows reliable validity

A healthcare professional in business attire seated at a desk consults with a patient across from her in an indoor office setting, with a computer visible on the desk.
Research area:PsychologyPsychometricsPsychiatry and Mental health

What the study found

The Chinese version of the Persistent Somatic Symptom Stigma Scale for Healthcare Professionals (PSSS-HCP-C) showed satisfactory reliability and validity for use with Chinese healthcare professionals.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors conclude that this tool can be used to assess healthcare professionals’ stigma toward patients with persistent somatic symptoms in China. They also state that it provides a measurement basis for developing interventions to reduce stigma, enhance clinical attitudes, and inform policy-making in persistent somatic symptom management.

What the researchers tested

The researchers translated the original PSSS-HCP into Chinese, adapted it across cultures using Brislin’s translation model, and pretested it for cultural fit. They then gave the scale to a convenience sample of 282 healthcare professionals from March to April 2025, with 30 participants completing a retest after two weeks.

What worked and what didn't

The final Chinese scale had 13 items across three dimensions: othering, uneasiness in interaction, and non-disclosure. The item-level content validity index ranged from 0.80 to 1.00, the scale-level content validity index was 0.946, exploratory factor analysis extracted three factors explaining 66.692% of the total variance, and factor loadings ranged from 0.743 to 0.885. Reliability was also reported as good, with Cronbach’s α of 0.867 overall, subscale α values from 0.817 to 0.872, split-half reliability of 0.798, and test-retest reliability of 0.897.

What to keep in mind

The abstract does not describe major limitations. The study was based on a convenience sample of 282 healthcare professionals, so the available summary does not indicate how broadly the findings extend beyond that group.

Key points

  • The Chinese version of the stigma scale had 13 items across three dimensions.
  • Content validity was high, with a scale-level CVI of 0.946.
  • Exploratory factor analysis found three factors explaining 66.692% of the variance.
  • Reliability measures were reported as satisfactory, including Cronbach’s α of 0.867 and test-retest reliability of 0.897.
  • The authors say the scale can be used to assess stigma toward patients with persistent somatic symptoms in China.

Disclosure

Research title:
Chinese stigma scale for healthcare professionals shows reliable validity
Authors:
Fengjuan Zhao, Qing Yang, Yanfei Sun, Meng Zhao, Haiyang Song, Jiejie Ge, Sijing Peng
Institutions:
The Second Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Wuhan Sixth Hospital, Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing University, Shandong University, Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Publication date:
2026-02-25
DOI:
10.1186/s40359-026-04245-7
OpenAlex record:
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AI provenance: This post was generated by OpenAI. The original authors did not write or review this post.

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