Scale of conflict in health care decision-making: an instrument adapted and validated for the Portuguese language

Abstract

The different options available to patients in the health environment now are implicated in increasingly difficult processes of decision-making, and may trigger conflict about them. This study had as its purpose, to develop an instrument that enabled us to know about this variable. Therefore, we decided to effect a transcultural adaptation and evaluation of psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Decisional Conflict Scale, which seeks information about decision-making and the factors that influence the choices made. The sample consisted of 521 nursing students, with a focus on decision-making regarding the flu syndrome. The results obtained on the reliability tests showed good internal consistency for all items (Cronbach α=0.94). The psychometric study allowed us to affirm that the Portuguese version of the Decisional Conflict Scale, which we call Scale of Conflicts in Decision-Making in Health (ECTDS), was a reliable and valid instrument.