Perceived Transcultural Self-Efficacy of Nurses in General Hospitals in Guangzhou, China

BACKGROUND: Conflicts arising from cultural diversity among patients and hospital staff in China have become intense. Hospitals have an urgent need to improve transcultural self-efficacy of nurses for providing effective transcultural nursing. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the research was to (a) evaluate the current status of perceived transcultural self-efficacy of nurses in general hospitals in Guangzhou, China; (b) explore associations between demographic characteristics of nurses and their perceived transcultural self-efficacy; and (c) assess the reliability and validity of scores on the Chinese version of the Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool (TSET). METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of registered nurses from three general hospitals was conducted. Quota and convenience sampling were used. Participants provided demographic information and answered questions on the TSET. RESULTS: A total of 1,156 registered nurses took part. Most nurses had a moderate level of self-efficacy on the Cognitive (87.9%), Practical (87%), and Affective (89.2%) TSET subscales. Nurses who were older; who had more years of work experience, higher professional titles, higher incomes, and a minority background; and who were officially employed (not temporary positions) had higher perceived transcultural self-efficacy. Reliability estimated using Cronbach’s alpha was .99 for the total TSET score; reliability for the three subscales ranged from .97 to .98. Confirmatory factor analysis of TSET scores showed good fit with a three-factor model. CONCLUSION: The results of this study can provide insights and guidelines for hospital nursing management to facilitate design of in-service education systems to improve transcultural self-efficacy of nurses.