Development and Validation of the Schizophrenia Disease Burden Scale: A Comprehensive Patient-Reported Outcome Measure Incorporating Socioeconomic and Cultural Contexts

Background Schizophrenia is a chronic disabling neurocognitive disorder. Physiotherapists being an integral part in improving the quality of life and disease burden of schizophrenia patients, it is important to know the disease burden of the patients. Most of the patient reported outcome measure examining the quality of life and disease burden of individuals living with Schizophrenia focuses on the impact of psychiatric symptoms overseeing the somatic complaints. There is need for Indian based Schizophrenia specific questionnaire that may significantly influence the symptoms, course and outcomes. This will help health care professionals in developing a patient centered treatment protocol and enhance active participation. This study aims to construct and validate Schizophrenia disease burden scale that which will be culturally sensitive. Methods Based on the results of qualitative analysis, a questionnaire was framed and content validated by 11 experts. Following which the questionnaire was circulated to 325 participants based on consecutive sampling method for quantitative analysis. Exploratory factor analysis was done using Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Measure of Sampling Adequacy. Results Content validity of the scale was found to be 0.87 and has a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.922. Following item reduction, a 24-item scale finalized with KMO value of 0.744. 6 domains were identified in scree plot and was confirmed with confirmatory factor analysis. Conclusion The Schizophrenia Disease Burden Scale takes into account the unique experiences, challenges and social dynamics that individuals face in India, specifically Tamil Nadu, thus providing a more relevant and culturally sensitive assessment of disease burden.