Developing the nursing practice environment scale for home health care: A trial study in Japan

AIM: To develop the nursing practice environment scale in home health care (NPES‐HHC), which measures the attractiveness of nursing practice environments in Japan. DESIGN: Cross‐sectional study. METHODS: The answers of 1,050 mail surveys conducted for nurses at 421 home‐visit nursing agencies in Japan were analysed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the NPES‐HHC’s candidate items were performed. Relationships between the newly developed NPES‐HHC and participants’ intention to remain at the workplace, job satisfaction and quality of care were also tested. RESULTS: A seven‐dimensional model with 37 items was obtained by exploratory factor analysis (Cronbach's alpha: 0.77–0.92). Confirmatory factor analysis supported this model. NPES‐HHC scores had significant positive relations with participants’ intention to remain at the workplace, job satisfaction and quality of care (p < .01). The NPES‐HHC is a reliable and valid instrument to assess the attractiveness of the practice environment for home‐visit nursing agencies.