Testing the validity and reliability of the Self‐Administration of Medication (SAM) instrument in Chinese chronic disease patients: A cross‐cultural adaptation

Abstract Aims To develop a culturally appropriate and functional standard Mandarin Chinese translation of the Self‐Administration of Medication tool and to examine its validity and reliability. Methods We used Brislin's guidelines for the translation and back‐translation procedures. We recruited 130 patients from June 2015 to September 2016. Correlation analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, split‐half reliability, item analysis and the content validity index, and exploratory factor analysis were performed. Results Strong and moderate correlations were seen between the total Self‐Administration of Medication score and nurses' and patients' perceptions. Item analysis indicated that the correlation coefficient ranged from 0.744 to 0.975. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.933 to 0.976. The split‐half reliability ranged from 0.911 to 0.936 for the instrument's subscales, and 0.953 for the total scale. The content validity index value ranged from 0.823 to 0.972 for individual items and was 0.968 for the total scale. The factor loading matrix of the SAM ranged from 0.514 to 0.837. A moderate correlation existed between the scores of the Self‐Administration of Medication tool and the Barthel Index. Conclusion The Chinese version of the Self‐Administration of Medication tool is statistically acceptable and can be used in the evaluation of self‐medication ability based on self‐report and nurses' assessment.