Validation of the Persian version of family health climate scale (FHC-Scale) in Iranian families

BACKGROUND: Family health is an important issue which has attracted researchers from different fields. The present study aimed to validate the Persian version of the Family Health Climate Scale (FHC-Scale). METHODS: In this methodological research, a total of 620 individuals presenting to Comprehensive Healthcare centers affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and Gonabad University of Medical Sciences were selected through random multistage sampling. Validation of the FHC-Scale was performed. First, the original scale was translated and back-translated. Then its content validity and construct validity were assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was assessed using internal consistency and stability. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and LISREL version 8.5 (SSI Inc., Skokie, IL, USA). RESULTS: Results of exploratory factor analysis showed that “physical activity” of family health climate scale (FHC-PA) has three dimensions: value, cohesion and information explaining 61.99% of the variance. “Nutrition” of family health climate scale (FHC-NU) had four dimensions of value, communication, cohesion and consensus explaining 66.19% of the variance. Internal consistency of the dimensions of (FHC-PA) ranged 0.82–0.85 and that for FHC-NU ranged 0.82–0.84. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed goodness of fit and confirmed family health climate scale (Nutrition and physical activity). CONCLUSION: Results of the study revealed that the FHC-Scale has appropriate reliability and validity for Iranian families. Therefore, the Persian version of the scale can be used for assessing health-related aspects of family. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-020-09931-8.