Cross-cultural validation and psychometric testing of the Debriefing Experience Scale (DES): a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The Debriefing Experience Scale (DES) is a tool that is used to explore nursing students’ subjective experiences during a debriefing and to help determine best debriefing practices. A Chinese version of the scale has not been found; its development can enhance learning in simulation activites in Chinese healthcare education programs. METHODS: A simplified Chinese version of the DES was developed and tested using 34 Chinese undergraduate (second year) nursing students. They participated in six simulation scenarios and debriefings. Eight experts were consulted to determine the content validity of the scale. Critical ratio method, Cronbach’s alpha, intraclass correlation coefficient, correlation coefficient and factor analysis were used in testing the psychometric properties of the scale. RESULTS: Analysis of 200 scales showed that the simplified Chinese version of the DES had good potential in discriminatiing Chinese nursing students’ experiences of debriefing. CONCLUSIONS: The simplified Chinese DES was effective in evaluating the experience of debriefing. A larger sample size and multicenter research is needed to confirm these findings. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-022-03332-8.