Development and psychometric properties of a general cancer stigma scale.

ABSTRACT: Cancer stigma negatively impacts diagnosis, quality of life, and survival outcomes, yet stigma reduction efforts are hindered by the lack of a valid and universal scale to measure cancer stigma. This study aimed to develop and validate a global cancer stigma scale, the Cross-Cultural Oncology Measure for Perception and Awareness of Stigma Scale (COMPASS), which measures internalized, anticipated, and enacted stigma. The scale was developed using mixed methods in two phases: (1) feedback from experts and people with cancer on an initial pool of items, and (2) psychometric validation with people with cancer. Data were collected from two cancer centers in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, and Lilongwe, Malawi. We examined the scale's initial psychometric properties, including item-total correlation,

SUBMITTER: Kimani SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12904632 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature