Instrument for assessing social network support for women with breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES

to validate an instrument for assessing social network support for women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

METHODS

a methodological study with construction stages based on Social Network Theory. Content validity was performed by ten judges (nominal group), and semantic assessment was conducted by eight women (brainstorming). Data were analyzed using relative frequencies, Content Validity Coefficient, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, and Confidence Index.

RESULTS

the instrument, with five dimensions of support (emotional/esteem, informational, tangible/instrumental, companionship, and self-support), had 60 items. Most items had coefficients ≥0.80 in judges' assessment. After eliminating items and making adjustments, the instrument was left with 47 items, with a semantic assessment that reached a Confidence Index of 0.99. Adjustments were made for greater clarity, maintaining the 47 items across the five support dimensions.

CONCLUSIONS

the instrument was validated as a tool to assess social network support for women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.