Validity and reliability of an Emotional Thermometer tool: an exploratory cross-sectional study.

Introduction: There are a few screening tools to detect psychological symptoms among people with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) in China.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of a translated version of the Emotional Thermometer (ET) tool.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of two phases: (1) translation and content validity testing; and (2) assessment of psychometric properties, including internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity. For the first phase, the authors used a forward-backward translation approach for the Chinese version of the instrument and tested its content validity with a panel of six experts. For the second phase, the data, including the ET tool and demographic characteristics were collected in a convenience sample of 197 Chinese people with MCCs recruited from a university hospital. The first 50 participants participated in the two-week retest.

Results: The Chinese version of the ET tool had satisfactory psychometric properties; content validity index (0.83), internal consistency (0.92), and ICC (0.93 to 0.98 [p < 0.01]). Principal component analysis showed that there was only one component with an eigenvalue greater than 1 (value = 3.80), with 76.67% of the variance responding. All items loaded significantly onto this factor and demonstrated strong loadings of > 0.70.

Conclusion: The Chinese-version of the ET tool is psychometrically sound. It has the potential to be used as a screening tool for psychological symptoms in Chinese people with MCCs.

Impact statement: Findings from testing the Chinese translation of the Emotional Thermometer indicate this could be a convenient and useful screening tool to detect psychological symptoms in patients with multiple chronic conditions.