Acceptance Scale for Traditional Chinese Medicine Techniques in Cancer Patients: Development and Validation.

Background: Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques have unique advantages in complementary cancer treatment, and their clinical application largely relies on patient acceptance. Scientific assessment of patients' acceptance of Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques is a key step in promoting their clinical application. However, no scientifically validated tools exist to assess cancer patients' acceptance of Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques. Purpose: To develop and validate the acceptance scale for Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques in cancer patients. Patients and Methods: The study involved scale development and psychometric testing. Items were generated via conceptual definition, literature review, and qualitative research based on the Technology Acceptance Model. Two rounds of expert review and a pilot study refined the scale and assessed content validity. Psychometric evaluation was conducted on 370 cancer patients, including item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, validity assessments, and reliability testing. Results: The finalized 25-item scale has four dimensions: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, behavioral intention, and apprehensions about usage. Content validity indices ranged from 0.933 to 1.000. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four common factors, accounting for 66.6% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good fit (χ2/df=2.304, GFI=0.803, CFI=0.907, NFI=0.847, RMSEA=0.079). Convergent validity indicated Average Variance Extraction values of 0.493-0.679 and Composite Reliability of 0.858-0.913. Correlations between dimensions ranged from 0.624 to 0.730, with satisfactory discriminant validity. Reliability was high (Cronbach's alpha=0.951, split-half=0.871, test-retest=0.876). Conclusion: This scale is a reliable and effective tool for assessing cancer patients' acceptance of Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques. It provides guidance for clinical practice and research involving these techniques.