Reliability and validity of the Turkish language Itch Man Scale in pediatric burn survivors


TUNÇBİLEK Z., Demir S., Karahan S., Ozyurt N., Sahin S., ŞENEL E.

BURNS, vol.51, no.6, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 51 Issue: 6
  • Publication Date: 2025
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.burns.2025.107530
  • Journal Name: BURNS
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to translate the Itch Man Scale into Turkish and validate it for use in assessing itching in pediatric burn patients. Methods: This language adaptation and psychometric testing was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, the Itch Man Scale was translated into Turkish by expert translators-and back translated into English-and the content validity was assessed by subject-matter experts. In the second stage, the scale was administered twice within 30 minutes to 102 pediatric patients with burns to evaluate the test-retest reliability. The Visual Analog Scale and 5-D Itch Scale were also administered once to the same group to assess convergent validity. Results: Statistically significant positive correlations were found between the Itch Man Scale and both the Visual Analog Scale (r = 0.767, p <0.001) and the 5-D Itch Scale (r = 0.665, p < 0.001). The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.915. Conclusion: The Itch Man Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for Turkish pediatric burn patients and is therefore recommended for use in assessing itching in such patients in T & uuml;rkiye.