Back to school readiness scale for children with oncological problems: 7–18 years of age

Abstract

IntroductionChildhood cancers are one of the important health problems in both developed and underdeveloped countries. The cancer treatment process is a difficult period that can last for months or years, interrupt school activities for a while, or even cause them to leave completely, and require long-term hospitalization. PurposeThis study was carried out to develop the Back to School Readiness Scale for Children with Oncological Problems: 7–18 years of age, and to establish its validity and reliability. MethodThe research is a methodological study and the validity and reliability study of a developed scale was conducted. ResultsKaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) value was determined as 0.951. As a result of Bartlett's test analysis, Chi-Square value is 6261.566, degree of freedom is 703 and the value found is significant (p = 0.00, p < 0.05). While the loadings of the items on the first factor vary between 0.79 and 0.46, the loads on the second factor vary between 0.76 and.47. The item-total-test correlation value is 0.63. Total Croncabh alpha (α) value of the scale is 0.97. ConclusionBack to School Readiness Scale for Children with Oncological Problems: 7–18 years of age is a valid and reliable measurement tool. Practice implicationsReturning to school is a difficult process for children living with cancer due to long-term hospitalization. This scale can be used by both pediatric nurses and school nurses to evaluate children's return to school. Additionally, children and families can get an idea about preparing for returning to school by applying this scale.