Pediatric Ward Nurses’ Caring Self-Efficacy Scale: Development and Validation

BACKGROUND: No instrument specifically designed to investigate the caring self-efficacy of nurses in pediatric wards was found. The aim of the present study was therefore to develop a scale to evaluate pediatric wards nurse's caring self-efficacy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, an exploratory, sequential, mixed method was used in 2015 in Iran. Data collected from 27 semi-structured interviews with nurses in pediatric wards were analyzed using conventional content analysis. The initial version of the scale was obtained with 65 items. Face validity was determined using impact score and content validity using the Content Validity Index (CVI) and Content Validity Ratio (CVR). The construct validity of the scale was investigated using exploratory factor analysis with 305 nurses in pediatric wards. The concurrent validity of the scale was acquired using the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Internal consistency and test–retest reliability were also examined. RESULTS: The scale-CVI (S-CVI) (average) was 0.85. The 14 items with a CVR and CVI of less than 0.51 and 0.70, respectively, were deleted and the final 51-item scale was approved. All 51 items had good impact score (>1.50). In the final scale, four subscales were extracted using construct validity. The concurrent validity of the scale was also obtained (r = 0.77, p < 0.001). The total Cronbach's α correlation coefficient of the scale was 0.96 and test–retest reliability was 0.98. CONCLUSIONS: The Pediatric Ward Nurses' Caring Self-Efficacy (PWNCSE) scale developed in this study is a practical, reliable, and valid scale to evaluate pediatric ward nurses' caring self-efficacy.