Development of the Career Anchors Scale among Occupational Health Nurses in Japan

• Published in: Journal of Occupational Health 2016-11, Vol.58 (6), p.519-533
• Main Authors: Kubo, Yoshiko, Hatono, Yoko, Kubo, Tomohide, Shimamoto, Satoko, Nakatani, Junko, Burgel, Barbara J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Career anchor; Career development; Career Mobility; Careers; Confidence intervals; Correlation analysis; Data processing; Discriminant analysis; Factor analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Humans; Japan; Job Satisfaction; Male; Middle Aged; Nurses; Nurses - psychology; Occupational health; Occupational health nurse; Occupational Health Nursing; Original; Qualitative analysis; Reliability analysis; Reproducibility of Results; Scale development; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Validity
• ISSN: 1341-9145; 1348-9585; 1348-9585
• DOI: 10.1539/joh.16-0011-OA

[Abstract]: Objectives: This study aimed to develop the Career Anchors Scale among Occupational Health Nurses (CASOHN) and evaluate its reliability and validity. Methods: Scale items were developed through a qualitative inductive analysis of interview data, and items were revised following an examination of content validity by experts and occupational health nurses (OHNs), resulting in a provisional scale of 41 items. A total of 745 OHNs (response rate 45.2%) affiliated with the Japan Society for Occupational Health participated in the self-administered questionnaire survey. Results: Two items were deleted based on item-total correlations. Factor analysis was then conducted on the remaining 39 items to examine construct validity. An exploratory factor analysis with a main factor method and promax rotation resulted in the extraction of six factors. The variance contribution ratios of the six factors were 37.45, 7.01, 5.86, 4.95, 4.16, and 3.19%. The cumulative contribution ratio was 62.62%. The factors were named as follows: Demonstrating expertise and considering position in work (Factor 1); Management skills for effective work (Factor 2); Supporting health improvement in groups and organizations (Factor 3); Providing employee-focused support (Factor 4); Collaborating with occupational health team members and personnel (Factor 5); and Compatibility of work and private life (Factor 6). The confidence coefficient determined by the split-half method was 0.85. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the overall scale was 0.95, whereas those of the six subscales were 0.88, 0.90, 0.91, 0.80, 0.85, and 0.79, respectively. Conclusions: CASOHN was found to be valid and reliable for measuring career anchors among OHNs in Japan.