Psychometric Soundness of an Arabic Version of the Jefferson Scale of Attitude toward Physician and Nurse Collaboration (JSAPNC): A Preliminary Study

BACKGROUND: The Jefferson Scale of Attitude toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration (JSAPNC) has been used to measure the attitude regarding collaboration between nurses and physicians. The aim of this preliminary study was to test the reliability and validity of an Arabic version of the questionnaire and adapt it for use in Palestine. METHODS: Forward-backward translation of guidelines provided in the literature was followed. Content validity was examined by nine health experts and reliability was assessed with Cronbach’s coefficient alpha; test-retest reliability. Construct validity was explored with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) by means of survey among 414 physicians and nurses worked at Shifa Medical Complex in the Gaza Strip in 2015. RESULTS: Response rate was 65% and Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was 73.2 for the entire sample. Test-retest reliability was 0.79 measured by Pearson correlation. Factor analysis with Varimax rotation revealed four factors explained 60.5% of the variance in the responses labeled as physician-nurse collaboration, doctor’s authority, Shared education and Nursing role in-patient care. Goodness of fit indices from the CFA showed a satisfactory model of fit; Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.89; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.06; Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.03; and Hoelter index = 206. CONCLUSION: The Arabic version of JSAPNC is psychometrically sound tool with satisfactory measurement characteristics including validity and internal consistency reliability. Future research is required to replicate these findings with larger and representative sample. Generalization to Arab speaking countries can be considered but with caution.