Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Caffrey Cultural Competency in Health Care Scale

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Nursing Research
• Cultural Competency Studies

Background:

• Cultural competence is crucial for healthcare professionals.
• International immersion experiences offer unique learning opportunities for nursing students.
• Assessing cultural competence requires validated measurement tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To psychometrically analyze the Caffrey Cultural Competence in Healthcare Scale (CCCHS).
• To evaluate the CCCHS for measuring self-assessed cultural competency in nursing students.
• To validate the scale for use with students in international immersion programs.

Main Methods:

• The CCCHS was administered to 105 health professions students.
• Psychometric analysis included inter-item correlations and exploratory factor analysis (EFA).
• Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha (α).

Main Results:

• Items on the CCCHS demonstrated positive inter-item correlations.
• A unidimensional factor structure was identified via EFA, with most items loading > .30.
• Two items related to national policy did not load strongly, suggesting they may not be core components.

Conclusions:

• The CCCHS is a valid and reliable scale for measuring cultural competence.
• The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .93).
• The CCCHS functions as a unidimensional measure, suitable for assessing nursing students' cultural competence.