Development and validation of an emotional labour scale for nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Psychometrics
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Nurses frequently engage in emotional labor during patient interactions.
• Existing measurement tools for emotional labor were not specific to nursing, hindering accurate assessment.
• There is a need for a validated instrument tailored to the unique aspects of emotional labor in nursing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a reliable instrument for measuring emotional labor specifically among nurses.
• To assess the psychometric properties of the newly developed emotional labor scale for nurses.

Main Methods:

• A conceptual framework was established, followed by item generation through literature review and interviews.
• A 25-item preliminary scale was administered to 304 nurses in metropolitan hospitals.
• Statistical analyses including item analysis, factor analysis, Pearson correlation, and Cronbach's alpha were employed to test validity and reliability.

Main Results:

• A 16-item scale, comprising three factors—'emotional control effort in profession,' 'patient-focused emotional suppression,' and 'emotional pretense by norms'—was finalized.
• These factors explained 52.1% of the variance.
• The scale demonstrated strong reliability with Cronbach's alpha of 0.81 and a split-half coefficient of 0.84.

Conclusions:

• The developed scale is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing nurses' emotional labor.
• This validated scale can inform the development of effective strategies for managing emotional labor in nursing practice.