Abstract: Objective: To develop a Good Death Scale for terminal patients and test its reliability and validity. Methods: Guided by the good death model, an initial version of the scale was developed through literature review, semi-structured interview and expert correspondence and pilot survey. From January to March 2023, patients were selected from the outpatients and wards in two tertiary grade A hospitals in Beijing and Tianjin for questionnaire survey, and the item analysis and reliability and validity testing were carried out for the scale. Results: Good Death Scale was composed of 6 dimensions with a total of 29 items. The content validity index (CVI) of the scale was 0.979, and the CVI of each item (I-CVI) was between 0.800 and 1.000. The Cronbach' α coefficient of the scale is 0.877, and the half reliability coefficient is 0.803. Conclusion: The Good Death Scale for terminally ill patients is with good reliability and validity, and it can be used as a tool to measure the death quality for terminal patients in China.

Key words: terminally ill patients; good death; scale; hospice care