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Family members' experience of integrating chronic illnesses or chronic conditions into family life is valuable information for health care professionals, such as nurses, to understand, improve, and adjust the care provided to families of chronically ill patients. Furthermore, the assessment of the experience of integrating chronic illness into family life can support family nursing interventions and reduce suffering. This study aimed to adapt and psychometrically test a new Likert-type questionnaire on the experience of integrating pediatric chronic illness into family life (EICI-FLQ) in two European samples. A sample of 164 primary caregivers of children/adolescents with chronic illnesses/conditions in Iceland and another sample of 237 primary caregivers with children/adolescents with chronic illnesses/conditions in Portugal completed the online questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis of the Icelandic sample yielded support for a one-factor solution with acceptable internal reliability (Cronbach's α =.866). Confirmatory factor analysis of the one-factor structure in the Portuguese sample indicated good model fit and similar internal reliability (Cronbach's α =.838). This instrument has good psychometric characteristics and is a promising tool for measuring the experience of integrating pediatric chronic illness into family life in clinical and research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The support from nurses perceived by family members of children with chronic conditions has been shown to be a protective factor at different levels in a family's health. As such, nurses need to have instruments that assess this perception to increase the quality of the care provided to those families. This methodological study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Portuguese translation of the Iceland-Family Perceived Support Questionnaire (ICE-FPSQ) in parents of children/adolescents with chronic conditions. The ICE-FPSQ was administered to 237 parents recruited from the day hospital and outpatient services of four hospitals in Northern Portugal. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients for the Total Scale, Cognitive Support, and Emotional Support subscales were excellent (α = 0.96, α = 0.93, α = 0.96, respectively). Reasonable fit indexes were found by confirmatory factor analysis (χ 2 /df = 2.799; CFI = 0.960; PCFI = 0.791, and RMSEA = 0.087), indicating a good model fit to the original structure. The ICE-FPSQ is a valid and reliable instrument to measure perceived support.