Psychometric testing of the nurse professional competence scale Arabic version: An exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses

• Published in: Nurse education in practice 2023-07, Vol.70, p.103679-103679, Article 103679
• Main Authors: Grande, Rizal Angelo N., Berdida, Daniel Joseph E., Cornejo, Larry Terrence O., Villagracia, Hazel N., Al-Shammari, Mohmmad K., Alshammari, Ahmad Tuaysan, Alenezi, Huda Saad, Alshammari, Tahani Awadh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arabic language; Arabic translation; Clinical competence; Competence; Confirmatory factor analysis; Construct validity; Cost analysis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data Analysis; Educational Environment; Epidemiology; Exploratory factor analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Health care industry; Holistic medicine; Hospitals; Humans; Nurse; Nurse managers; Nurses; Nursing care; Nursing Students; Observational studies; Patient safety; Professional Competence; Professional practice; Psychometric validity; Psychometrics - methods; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; Reliability; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thinking Skills
• ISSN: 1471-5953; 1873-5223
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nepr.2023.103679

To translate the Nurse Professional Competence Scale-Short Form English version into Arabic and psychometrically validate its properties among Saudi citizen nurses. Evaluating nurses' professional competence is vital in delivering safe, cost-effective care and developing healthcare systems. However, psychometrically reliable and validated nurse competence scales in Arabic-speaking countries remain scant. A descriptive cross-sectional design adhering to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. Participant nurses (n = 598) were conveniently recruited from four government-owned hospitals and completed the Arabic-translated 35-item Nurse Professional Competence Scale-Short Form. We used Spearman’s rank-order correlation, exploratory factor analysis, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test, and confirmatory factor analysis to analyze the data. After exploratory factor analysis and reliability analyses, several items of the Arabic-translated 35-item Nurse Professional Competence Scale-Short Form were omitted due to high inter-item correlations and low factor loading difference. The Arabic version of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale-Short Form was reduced to 21 items, consisting of a three-factor structure: Professional Care Pedagogics, Holistic Value-Based Care, and Direct Nursing Care. Results also demonstrated that the revised three-factor structure had good overall scale reliability, good subscale internal consistencies, and acceptable construct validity using the confirmatory factor analysis. The 21-item Nurse Professional Competence Scale-Short Form Arabic version is a useful scale, having demonstrated construct validity and reliability. Therefore, nurse managers in Arabic-speaking nations could assess their nurses' professional competence using the 21-item Nurse Professional Competence Scale-Short Form Arabic version to develop proactive programs that enhance professional competence.