Psychometric properties of the short-form Chinese Community Nurses Stress Scale: A cross-sectional study

Job-related stress had adverse effects on both patients and community nurses. To evaluate stress, an effective and reliable instrument was needed. The aim of this study was to develop a short-form Chinese Community Nurse Stress Scale and examine its psychometric properties. A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 969 community nurses were selected from 56 community centers/stations in Sichuan Province. The socio-demographic data and job stress assessed by the Chinese Community Nurse Stress Scale (CNSS) were collected. After randomly splitting the sample into group 1 and group 2, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were carried out to shorten the scale and test its reliability and construct validity. There were no significant differences in socio-demographic variables between group 1 (n = 488) and group 2 (n = 481). During exploratory factor analysis, 4 factors were selected, including management and interpersonal relationships (8 items), patient care (7 items), environment and resources of work (6 items), and career promotion (4 items), which explained 62.66% of all variance. Cronbachs α coefficient of the short-form CNSS was 0.94, and the cross-sample validity test supported the best fit model for this 25-item CNSS. The results in this study supported that the 25-item CNSS had a good reliability and validity when it was administrated to Chinese community nurses.