The aim of this study was to develop a valid instrument to measure student nurses’ perceptions of community care (SCOPE). DeVellis’ staged model for instrument development and validation was used. Scale construction of SCOPE was based on existing literature. Evaluation of its psychometric properties included exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis. After pilot-testing, 1062 bachelor nursing students from six institutions in the Netherlands (response rate 81%) took part in the study. SCOPE is a 35-item scale containing: background variables, 11 measuring the affective component, 5 measuring community care perception as a placement, 17 as a future profession, and 2 on the reasons underlying student preference. Principal axis factoring yielded two factors in the affective component scale reflecting ‘enjoyment’ and ‘utility’, two in the placement scale reflecting ‘learning possibilities’ and ‘personal satisfaction’, and four in the profession scale: ‘professional development’, ‘collaboration’, ‘caregiving’, and ‘complexity and workload’. Cronbach’s α of the complete scale was .892 and of the subscales .862, .696, and .810 respectively. SCOPE is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring students’ perceptions of community care. By determining these perceptions, it becomes possible to positively influence them with targeted curriculum redesign, eventually contributing to decreasing the workforce shortage in community nursing.
The instrument called Families Importance in Nursing Care-Nurses' Attitudes (FINC-NA) is used to measure nurses' attitudes toward involving families in their nursing care. The aim of this study is to evaluate the FINC-NA scale in a population of Dutch nurses and add new psychometric information to existing knowledge about this instrument. Using a cross-sectional design, 1,211 nurses received an online application in 2015. Psychometric properties were based on polychoric correlations and the Generalized Partial Credit Model. A total of 597 (49%) nurses responded to the online application. Results confirmed a four-subscale structure. All response categories were utilized, although some ceiling effects occurred. Most items increase monotonically, and the majority of items discriminate well between different latent trait scores of nurses with some items providing more information than others. This study reports the psychometric properties of the Dutch language FINC-NA instrument. New insights into the construct and content of items enable the possibility of a more generic instrument that could be valid across several cultures.
AIM: To explore concurrent validity, convergent validity, interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, and Rasch model analysis of the School Participation Questionnaire (SPQ), a tool for teachers to assess personal and environmental determinants of school participation.METHOD: Teachers of children with additional support needs, including intellectual disability, autism, and learning difficulties completed measures. Data were collected using the SPQ and the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY). Test-retest and interrater reliability were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's alpha. Concurrent and convergent validity were explored via correlations with the PEM-CY. Further psychometrics were examined using a Rasch model.RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-seven children (136 [72.7%] male; mean age 9y [range 5y 6mo-12y 10mo, SD 2y]) were assessed by 67 teachers. Cronbach's alpha, test-retest, and interrater reliability were acceptable-excellent across each SPQ scale (alphas=0.89, 0.9, 0.94, 0.79; test-retest ICCs=0.64, 0.61, 0.78, 0.62; interrater ICCs=0.85, 0.71, 0.90, 0.81). Concurrent and convergent validity were confirmed with significant positive correlations between SPQ and PEM-CY. After Mokken and Rasch model analysis, person and item reliability were good, and unidimensionality was confirmed. Mean administration time was 8.2 minutes.INTERPRETATION: The results suggest that the SPQ is a rapid, reliable, and valid tool for assessment of participation-related indicators in schools.
