Development and validation of the infodemic scale.

Infodemic is closely related to all healthcare professionals. Nurses take the lead in health professions that spend a long time with the society and try to present accurate information due to their roles. Infodemic is the massive spread of false or unreliable information in times of crisis. This study aims to develop a valid and reliable tool that identifies individuals' approaches to infodemic. This study was methodological. The sample consisted of 504 people ( N  = 504). Data were collected using the Information Form and the Infodemic Scale. The sample was divided into two for the explanatory factor analysis (EFA) and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The scale was developed using the scale development process in health and social research, which consists of three steps. The EFA revealed 14 items under two factors, which are awareness and literacy. Item factor loadings were found to range between 0.334 and 0.907. The CFA confirmed the two-factor scale structure. The total Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.87, and the composite reliability value was 0.89. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) value was found to be 0.857. According to psychometric evaluations, the Infodemic Scale is a valid and reliable instrument that can make consistent measurements.