Adaptation of Intercultural Sensitivity Scale for Turkish Medical Students

Abstract

Background: Different languages and insufficient levels of intercultural sensitivity among healthcare providers hinder migrants from benefiting from health services, resulting in a lack of trust in service providers and non-adherence to the treatment. This study aims to verify the validity and reliability of the “Intercultural Sensitivity Scale” developed by Chen and Starosta among Turkish medical students. Methods: Data were collected between December 18, 2017, and February 28, 2018, from 667 students. In order to demonstrate the construct validity of the scale, the data were randomly divided into two parts using the functions in the SPSS package program. For the first half of the data (n1=337), exploratory factor analysis (EFA) based on polychoric correlation was applied together with the oblique rotation method. For the second half of the data (n2=330), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) based on polychoric correlations was applied to confirm the factor structure of the scale. In order to demonstrate the reliability of the scale, the Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient, which shows internal consistency, and Spearman-Brown coefficients, which shows the two-half reliability, were calculated. Results: Of the participants, 52.6% were female and the mean age was 24.2±1.4. Only one-third of the students stated they had knowledge about intercultural sensitivity. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.906. The Spearman-Brown coefficients for the whole scale and its sub-dimensions show that reliability values were also sufficient. In the confirmatory factor analysis, fit indices (RMSEA: 0.077, GFI: 0.98, CFI: 1.00) demonstrated a very good model fit. Conclusions: These results confirmed that the scale consisting of 23-items and 5-dimensions is a valid and reliable tool and can be used for Grade V and VI Turkish medical students. It is considered that integrating intercultural sensitivity training in undergraduate education of physicians would help to increase the number of physicians who are sensitive to different cultures and thus contribute to reducing disparities in healthcare provision. Keywords: intercultural sensitivity, scale, medical education, reliability-validity, confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha